From the BBC:
Banning smoking in outdoor public places would be "un-British", the immigration minister has said.
Damian Green told the Sunday Telegraph that passing such a law was at odds with the UK's "tolerant and mutually respectful society". It comes after Tory MP Philip Hollobone introduced a private members' bill which would make it legal for people to smoke on privately owned premises again.
Last week French MPs voted to ban smoking in public. The bill, which was overwhelmingly approved by France's lower house of parliament, must now be ratified by the Senate in September to become law. If it is passed, it will be illegal to smoke anywhere in public.
But Mr Green said such the existing UK ban was "very likely" to be lifted. "Telling people what they can and can't do, if they're just walking down the street, is a rather un-British thing to do," he told the Sunday Telegraph, "We're a tolerant and mutually respectful society."
Sunday, 18 July 2010
"Damian Green says smoking ban is un-British"
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14 comments:
It's just bloody iniquitous, all this banning, that's all.
Yeah, they ought to ban it.
Are we being a trifle ironic here Mark?
JH, exactly.
B, ban what? Ban banning?
TBY, forget it, they've already banned unhealthy sugary puddings.
The BBC article says nothing of the sort.
It's about the hijab, not smoking in public.
I'm not sure this is quite the right way to run a spoof.
But you may prove to be prophetic...
@anon: Took longer than I thought Mark. Anon, are you being a trifle ironic? (And I don't want to know about your sweet tooth!)
BTW, teeth are banned, ask your dentist.
Anon, crikey, they appear to have rewritten it behind my back :-(
If you had cited Brian Binley Northampton MP instead of Hollobone (Kettering) this spoof would have panned out better because Binley has intro'd an Early Day Motion calling for smokers to be allowed back in pubs.
"because Binley has intro'd an Early Day Motion calling for smokers to be allowed back in pubs.
With or with a burka? I'll opt for the burka if it means that I won't get a fine for smoking inside a pub...but I never would, burka or no, there's more money to be made out of the hapless landlord than a mad muslim suicidal/homicidal fuckwit.
Fuck, I'll need to get out more on a Sundays, maybe go to church?
DBC, true, but it's too late now.
TBY, true. At least you can smoke in church.
What exactly does "unBritish" mean? Is there a terma s unAmerican also?
@Electronic Sally,
I think the usual description is 'Like shooting a fox.'
However since most things British can usually be described as '2 stops short of Dagenham', we tend to phrase our descriptions of the daily slow motion train crashes in the opposite way - 'It's all part of growing up and being British.'
'UnAmerican' is indeed a weapons grade insult, implying a lack of 'American Values', whatever they may be. It probably reached a peak in the congressional 'Hous Un-American Activities Committee' or the 1950's.
Surely banninmg things has become the Nu British thing to do after 13 years of bansturbatory government? Unfortunately the Liberal wing of the coalition aren't very liberal re smoking but will be concerning all attire Muslim. Oh tempora! Oh mores!
Chuckles,
The thing was, they actually DID find a lot of people trying to create a communist takeover of the USA.
It was a witch-hunt, but there were real witches too.
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