Backlash as Tory MP Esther McVey uses Holocaust poem to attack smoking ban
Conservative MP Esther McVey has drawn backlash over a social media post in which she appeared to liken the government's proposed outdoor smoking restrictions to the Holocaust.
The MP for Tatton has been described as "repugnant" after she shared quotes from Martin Niemöller's 1946 poem, First They Came, which discusses the failure to prevent the Holocaust during World War Two, on X.
She shared it after Sir Keir Starmer said on Thursday "more details will be revealed", when asked if the government was considering a smoking ban in pub gardens and other public outdoor spaces.
Esther McVey has been branded as “repugnant” by the Board of Deputies of British Jews for likening the government’s proposed smoking ban to the Holocaust.
Sharing quotes from the poem, the former Cabinet minister wrote: "First they came for the Communists. And I did not speak out. Because I was not a communist.
"Then they came for the Jews. And I did not speak out. Because I was not a Jew.
"Then they came for me. And there was no one left. To speak out for me.
"Pertinent words re Starmer's smoking ban."
The post quickly drew criticism, with the Board of Deputies of British Jews calling it an "repugnant action".
“The use of Martin Niemoller’s poem about the horrors of the Nazis to describe a potential smoking ban is an ill-considered and repugnant action," it said in a statement.
“We would strongly encourage the MP for Tatton to delete her tweet and apologise for this breathtakingly thoughtless comparison.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting told Ms McVey to "get a grip".
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He said in a post on X: "No, I do not think the post-war confessional of Martin Niemöller about the silent complicity of the German intelligentsia and clergy in the Nazi rise to power is pertinent to a Smoking Bill that was in your manifesto and ours to tackle one of the biggest killers."
Rabbi David Mason, executive director of the Jewish Council for Racial Equality, said: “Tasteless. Utterly tasteless. How can you not see that?”
Despite the backlash, Ms McVey doubled down on her post saying it was merely an "analogy" and it is "ridiculous for anyone to even suggest" she was equating the ban to the horrors of the Holocaust.
She said: “Nobody is suggesting that banning smoking outside pubs can be equated with what happened to the Jews at the hands of the Nazis. It is ridiculous for anyone to even suggest that was what I was doing.
“I am pretty sure everyone understands the point I was making and knows that no offence was ever intended and that no equivalence was being suggested.”
She then stated she would “not be bullied” into removing the social media post by people “who are deliberately twisting the meaning of my words and finding offence when they know none was intended”.
Earlier on Thursday, it was revealed the government is considering a crackdown on tobacco products in areas including outdoor restaurants, areas outside nightclubs and pavements by universities and hospitals, according to documents seen by The Sun Newspaper.
The last Conservative government led by Rishi Sunak had announced plans for a smoke-free country through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in 2023.
The bill, dubbed the "greatest piece of public health legislation in a generation", was shelved as a result of the General Election being called.
Publicans and hospitality bosses have expressed concerns that a ban could "drive away" customers and lead to closures.
The chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, has urged the government "to reconsider this misguided restriction on pubs as social spaces".
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