But, today, a ray of light harpooned the smokers darkness. Licensees must see this as their chance of salvation. Working men's clubs must be looking skyward for the sign of benediction.
"Conservative Home" listed a lengthy questionairre today and to the joy of about 13 million discriminated against souls, not to mention thousands of struggling licensees, this popped up.....
Private clubs should be allowed to have smoking rooms
O... Agree
O...Disagree
O...Don't know
Now, if we cast our minds back in time, wasn't this the part of the Labour manifesto pre-ban? Didn't Patricia Hewitt take part in a meeting with the Leicester WMC's to hear the multitude of concerns they had if they were included in the ban?...and...Didn't she go back to London and vote for the ban (without exemptions) thus reneging on the manifesto?
Since this Draconian law was enacted the misery caused has been unparallelled in British polical history, including the ultimate price for some. 4 suicides.
The health lobby worked incessantly to bring about this ban.
freedom2choose have worked even harder to have this ban reformed.
I say reformed simply because reform is the only just and proper course of action.
Anti smokers and those that do not enjoy the pleasant aroma of tobacco (burning or not) do indeed have the right to enjoy socialising in a smoke free environment. But against that, smokers also have the right to enjoy their preferred social environment. It's called Human Rights.
Equally, licensees should have the right to choose how to run their businesses, thus if they choose to prosper at the hands of smokers then sobeit, they allow smoking in their establishment.
Those that choose to remain smoke free will always have a certain amount of clientele. It is up to their own endeavours as to the numbers in their establishments.
Back to the question: Private clubs should be allowed to have smoking rooms.
Well of course they should, it was always in the Labour manifesto and should never have been dismissed. Working Men's clubs are the very core of our working class entertainment sector. The place where Henry Solly envisaged the 'sweated brow' relaxing with pint & fag after a hard days toil. The place where entertainment was affordable to the lower paid/classes. Every club (to the best of my knowledge) could set a room aside for smokers, or even divide a large room to cater for smokers. There is not a problem with this, it is the simple solution to combat a ridiculous law.
It would also be the salvation for hundreds of clubs, now suffering because of this law. Figures wise, we would tend to lose 2.2 clubs per annum for various reasons, but we have sacrificed 93 in 30 months because the law states that smokers are no longer welcomed-with their fags. Considering that it is the working classes who enjoy cigarettes the most it would seem that this law was purposely discriminatory against the working classes!
Some clubs are £2K per week down on takings, how much longer they can survive is questionable. Permitting private clubs a smoking room will be the salvation of this great institution. Of that I have no doubt.
The evidence which occasioned the SB law is shameful. Had a business been set up in the same way this law was engineered it would surely have found the SFS (Serious Fraud Squad) crawling all over it within a fortnight.
Lies, fabrications, manipulated statistics & junk science-that is what this law is based upon but the people are waking up.
Let's hope the Conservatives have finally done so too!
Just think of the votes they could muster from a promise like this!
Are you listening David?
Just think of the millions of votes that The Conservatives will be giving to UKIP and the BNP if they don't propose to amend it.
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