Starmer’s outdoor smoking ban: I don’t want to cry ‘nanny state’, but where does it end?

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. While the proposal didn’t end up going anywhere, it seems his successor has similar ambitions, as leaked government documents revealed that Keir Starmer reportedly plans to ban smoking in pub gardens, outdoor restaurants, outside hospitals and near football stadiums. Football stadiums also make some amount of sense – they tend to be crowded and chaotic – and they aren’t exactly the kinds of places you want people loitering about. There’s probably also a downside to smoking near hospitals – I can’t say for sure, I’m not a doctor. But don’t come crying to me the next time you want to hear some randomer tell you their unsolicited opinions about vaccines in a freezing smoking area at half eleven on a work night.