Conservative MP Esther McVey has been criticised for a social media post in which she quoted a famous Holocaust poem in relation to reports the government could ban smoking in pub gardens and other public outdoor spaces.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, on Thursday, said “more details will be revealed”, when asked if the government was considering a ban.
Responding to the news, Ms McVey, a former Cabinet minister, shared a post on X of Martin Niemöller’s poem, which discusses the failure to prevent the Holocaust during World War Two.
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The post quickly drew criticism, with the Board of Deputies of British Jews calling it an “ill-considered and repugnant action”.
“We would strongly encourage the MP for Tatton to delete her tweet and apologise for this breathtakingly thoughtless comparison,” it posted on X.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting, meanwhile, told Ms McVey to “get a grip”.
Thanks for being a conscientious smoker; I’m afraid you’re in a witheringly small minority. If someone drinking a pint could blow a potent cloud of second hand pint into my personal space, then I might agree there is an equivalence, but there isn’t.
Yeah but someone having drank a few pints can and do frequently blow through intersections and into people’s personal space killing them instantly.
I’ve lost more people that way than to any other substance abuse. I think you’re right that it’s not equavalent: Alcohol still infinitely worse