House of Commons Leader Lucy Powell was grilled on GB News about leaked Labour plans to ban smoking in some outdoor spaces.
Camilla Tominey took the minister to task about plans that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says may help reduce the burden on the NHS.
But Labour have faced intense scrutiny over the move dubbed ‘authoritarian’ by many due to how it could turn people away from supporting an already ailing hospitality industry.
“We apparently have a £22bn black hole in our public finances”, Camilla said.
Lucy Powell defended the Government's plans
PA / GB NEWS
“Britain is so broken that Sir Keir Starmer warned last week that ‘things can only get worse’, and yet the Government’s priority right now is banning smoking and vaping outdoors?”
Powell insisted the Government have a “packed agenda” and the issue is far from being Labour’s main priority.
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“It’s not our only priority right now at all”, she said.
“We have a packed agenda of things we want to change, the country wants to change and what we were voted in on.
“That includes raising living standards, getting much needed growth back into the economy, not growth just for the sake of it, but growth that can raise the living standards across the country.
“Getting those NHS waiting lists down, tackling crime and illegal migration and getting energy bills lower in the long term.”
Lucy Powell joined Camilla Tominey on GB News
GB NEWS
Camilla interjected by asking how such a move by Labour can promote growth given the detrimental impact it could have on pubs.
“I would not accept that premise”, Powell responded.
“We’ve got here a consensus that has built over recent times. We want to aspire to get to a position where we’re a smoke-free nation.
“That’s why the previous government brought forward a bill to progressively increase the age at which people can buy cigarettes, we also want to tackle the scourge of vapes among young people.
“Smoking is a real killer.”
It was then put to Powell that vaping often helps people get off cigarettes, a point the minister accepted, before she hastened to add that it is still having a potentially damaging affect on young people in Britain.
She said: “It can help people get off cigarettes. What we’re seeing is a real explosion of young people taking up vaping, not smoking, that has wide implications.
“We’re taking forward the previous government’s bill and we want that broad consensus on smoking over time.
“Any such measures, should they come forward, we will work closely with businesses about the timescale of their implementation and how they would be operationalised.
“We would do that in consultation. This won’t be a case of just imposing this on businesses.”