Starmer responds in a monosyllabic manner to his claim that he plans to close pubs | Politics | News

Sir Keir Starmer has dismissed rumours that he might close pubs early as “nonsense”.

The Prime Minister dismissed reports that the government was considering new measures to combat alcohol consumption.

When the proposal was put to him, he said: “Nonsense. That is not government policy. We will not do that. The opening hours will not change, I can guarantee you that.”

Speaking at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, Health Minister Andrew Gwynne said the government was considering tightening opening hours for bars and pubs to improve health and combat anti-social behaviour.

Chief Medical Officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty warned ministers that if current trends continue, 60 percent of the NHS budget would ultimately be spent on preventable disease – up from 40 percent today.

Meanwhile, Labour is considering banning outdoor smoking to reduce avoidable deaths and ease pressure on the UK’s national health service (NHS).

The proposal would impact small parks, beer gardens, areas in front of hospitals, nightclubs and sports venues.

The restaurant industry warned that this would hurt restaurants that have already been struggling since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Health Minister Wes Streeting called for a “national debate” on the possibility of a smoking ban outside pubs.

The government is currently considering a restriction as part of a package of measures that will be outlined shortly, he said.

Ministers are examining what can be done to help smokers quit and “combat the scourge of passive smoking”, he said.

“We definitely want to see smoking phased out in our country, and that is what we have committed to in our manifesto,” Streeting told Sky News.

“We want to make sure that today’s generation of children is the healthiest generation that has ever lived and that they will therefore never be able to legally buy cigarettes.

“We are looking at a number of other measures to help people who currently smoke to quit and to combat the scourge of passive smoking, which is also harmful. We will present our proposals on these shortly.”

Asked if he would ban smoking outside pubs, he said: “Look, that is one of the measures I am considering and I am ready for a national debate on this issue.”

“We need to do two things – reform the health care system, but also reform public health, because we may be living longer but getting sicker earlier and that is costing our economy, our public finances and our own health.”