Still waiting for the promised review of the smoking ban. Promises, broken and politicians - 3 words, the basis of so many sentences.As pointed out further down the thread, we have indeed already been treated to their pretence of an in-depth analysis of a law - based on a manifesto lie, remember - which arguably closed down vast numbers of community pubs.
You'd be forgiven for not having seen it, though. Simply because it was never designed to be seen and, therefore, to have attracted attention.
It was commissioned by the Department of Health in 2009 and entitled "Smokefree - feasibility study - secondary analysis of data relating to the hospitality sector". You'd be hard-pressed to track it down as it wasn't published as a stand alone piece. Google Scholar, for example, has never heard of it.
We know that it cost £47,479 to produce, though, thanks to this Word document which lingers around the web like a naughty child. And that it was given to a safe pair of hands in the form of career prohibitionist Anne Ludbrook, but that's about it.
Instead of being presented for analysis, warts and all, it was quietly included in the Department of Health's whitewash of March 2011.
The part relating to the hospitality industry - that is, pubs and clubs - amounted to just 868 words. Expensive stuff at around £54 per word, but a disgraceful dismissal of the concerns experienced by thousands of pub and club owners up and down the country since 2007.
Contrast that with the £468,000 the government has spent lobbying itself - just in the South West - on plain packaging of tobacco and you'll recognise the utter contempt afforded to pubs by Westminster.
Just promoting a vanity project by state-funded tax drains - which will have no effect whatsoever on smoking prevalence in England, or anywhere else in the Union - is valued ten times more by our government than our unique and world famous pub heritage.
Is it any wonder that this Snowdon quote is so often cited?
"If I see one more politician who voted for the smoking ban crying crocodile tears about the state of the pub industry, I may throw up."Half a mill on talking to itself to appease tax spongers on an issue the public mostly couldn't give a shit about; a paltry £47k towards pubs.
Next time you hear a politician pretending to tear his hair out about the plight of pubs, remember that.
