Thursday
Mar272008
Not tonight, Darling - you're barred!
Thursday, March 27, 2008 A campaign to have the Chancellor barred from every pub in the country is gathering pace. Campaigners say "Alistair Darling has raised taxes on beer by 4 pence a pint with annual increases of 2% above inflation year on year for the next four years. This comes at a time when 27 pubs a week are closing due to the smoking ban and rising industry costs."
The group, which has a Facebook page HERE, wants supporters to print off the poster above and display it in their local pub. The BBC has the story HERE and you can also read about it (from the horse's mouth, as it were) on Devil's Kitchen HERE.
Reader Comments (11)
Banning Alistair Darling from pubs is ridiculous.
Ban all politicians from pubs and it might achieve something.
Check out other smoking support groups on Facebook such as the "We Will Not Pay to Smoke", and join the race "to find one million people that DO want smoking back in pubs." It needs more members as the Anti's are just ahead.
In addition to banning politicians from pubs all smokers should try and avoid premises that are not smoker friendly. I travel quite a bit through my job and have found a website hotelsmoking.co.uk that lists those hotels where there is a provision for smoking bedrooms. I only stay in these hotels now and if all smokers adopted the same policy it would halt the race to a 'Smokefree Britain'.
Do not just accept that all hotels will become smokefree. I used to contact various hotels to make reservations and if they did not provide a smoking room I would go elsewhere. Let these hotels know that smokers have options too.
I appreciate that Simon is a non smoker but if he and all at FOREST, F2C, BAT, Imperial Tobacco etc had a policy of only staying or holding meetings/conferences in smoker friendly hotels than it may make an impact. It is possible that such policies already exist and if they do I would appreciate details of more smoker friendly establishments as hotelsmoking.co.uk appears to be in it's infancy.
Michael, should you be interested in joining the F2C forum there are is a thread dedicated to this very issue! If you can't find what you want there, it has a number of devotees who can help you to find it.I don't use hotels very much so don't look at it much but it is referred to frequently.
One of Darling's main priorites was 'to help pensioners'. Many pensioners, like myself, used to like going to the pub for a drink and a smoke, with other pensioners. We are now thrown out into the cold, with lighter pockets.
It's becoming more and more obvious that one day 'when' this ban is repealed it will be like V.E. day in Britain, and even many non smokers will sense a feeling of freedom,and the joy of social cohesion return to this country.
Zitori,
It's funny you put it like that. It reminds me of when I visited England a few weeks before the ban came in there. I had been living in smokefree Scotland for nine months by that time, and visiting England was like returning to civilisation.
Walking into pubs and lighting up, and nobody batting an eyelid... I felt like an adult again!
I felt like I was part of a REAL culture, a real society, with history and heritage and freedom - not a deprived "citizen" of a smokefree, fascist "state".
The warm sense of freedom is a feeling I will never forget.
Of course the experience was tainted, knowing that in two weeks England would be infantillised by its own smoking ban. Year Zero.
Yes, Col, it's such an important freedom, because of what it represents. We all know the strange feeling of the uncomfortable restrictions that have been imposed upon us, and the speed at which it has happened, almost seems like it's some 'other' reality I'm living in, that resembles England, but isn't. Very sad.
The politicians are now saying 'it's over , move on'. Of course they will because they don't want to give it any creedance or importance,because they don't want to discuss it.Many, I believe, know the ETS lies, and would rather not enter into any argument.
This is FAR from over, in fact it's only just beginning, and let's make sure they know that.in any way we can. Which of the politicians want to be associated with a gigantic fraud? There will be many running scared when the truth is fully out. Things will change rapidly, as rapidly as they brought in this grotesque law,
The day this is over will be the day that I'm prepared to say "My body belongs to the Fuhrer!".
That day's never going to come for me.
wanted for treason blair prestcot brown straw flint reid hewitt collaborators and there enforcers the price is working stubbing out blairs legacy and labours war of mass destruction imposed on liberty respect tolerance equality identity compassion democracy integrity united kingdom who gave who the right to impose persecution bullying abuse and the deaths of innocent people under their controlled democracy are traitors have no elusions they are accountable for this so this is your better united kingdom as in war you pay the price for liberty its not what we want its what thay gave in memory of anthony mcdermott who was bullied and persecuted into suicide and hanged himself and all others so this is your new healthy united kingdom to all parties protect demands liberty and movments reinstated no liberty no peace lest they forgot no compromise this is an afront to our forfathers from protect
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