Denis Macshane  MP Calls For Free Vote On Smoking Ban In Commons

The Rt Hon Dr Denis MacShane MP said he will vote for any measures in the Commons that lead to a reduction in cancer and other diseases caused by active and passive smoking, even if it means voting against the Government.

The Labour MP for Rotherham and former minister of states made this pledge in a speech to the Rotherham British Medical Association.

“I have seen the agonising death and debilitating illness in old age of too many constituents who were not told the truth about smoking in the past. Smoking is a weapon of mass self-destruction that not only kills those who smoke but threatens the life over time of those who walk, sit, work or just enter in a smoke-filled atmosphere.

“It is a false argument to say it is a matter of choice any more than it is a matter of choice to reduce road fatalities by insisting on seat belts or speed limits. It is a false argument, as passive smoking is something the innocent cannot avoid unless we take action. It is a false argument for children who cannot choose to avoid a smoke-filled environment if one or both parents smoke.

“Other countries, states and cities around the world have moved to smoking bans and it is sad after 8 years of a Labour government, we are now one of the laggers not the leaders in Europe on the smoking question.

“I hope whenever the next appropriate legislation comes before the Commons, the Prime Minister and the leaders of the opposition parties agree to a free vote. Certainly I shall be following my good friend, the Rt Hon Kevin Barron, the MP for Rother Valley, into the Lobby that supports the toughest possible measure.

“I am a serial loyalist and a full-hearted supporter of the Prime Minister. I do not ever want to vote against him but I cannot abstain on any measure that will save the life of a single man or woman in Rotherham so if the whips are put on to make Labour MPs vote for a measure that does not match what other legislatures in the world agree then I shall be forced to vote against the cabinet line.

“I hope it does not come to this and that a free vote is on offer to all MPs as the question of stopping the nicotine menace cannot be a party political issue.

 MacShane told Rotherham doctors that Labour’s commitment to match EU levels of spending on health in Britain had reversed years of Tory decline. “In fact, by 2008 total UK health spending will be 9.4 per cent of national income, well above the current EU average of 8 per cent.

 “Since 1997, in South Yorkshire the number of doctors has risen by 819 with 339 more consultants. There are 2,500 more nurses at work in South Yorkshire since 1997.

 “In the first stage of NHS renewal Labour focused on hospital treatment – with 100 new hospitals being built by 2010 and seeing hospital waiting lists down by more than a third from their peak in 1998 to the smallest since 1987.

 “All this is the achievement of the doctors, nurses and other staff of our hospital services.

 “Now we have to turn our attention to primary care and community health services where nine out of ten of the contacts people have with the NHS takes place.

 “I hope we have sought to put in place good and fair salaries for most medical professionals.

 “The German magazine Der Spiegel published a report this week on the pitiful pay in Germany.

 “It showed a table which indicated that British doctors were third or fourth in the international league table in terms of pay.

 “I know these averages often mask inequities or regional or service differences but I hope the taxpayer via the government has recognised the worth of our medical profession.

 “Now, in return, I hope primary care practitioners can work with Patricia Hewitt to see how we can bring primary and community care to the patients rather than expecting the citizen who foots the bill to fit into structures and ways of operating that we do not expect when we want other professional services to be available to us at a time that suits our needs.

 “I hope we are beginning in Rotherham to see a break-down in the walls that separated off different public services – those provided by the council, by teachers, by the police, by medical and mental health professionals and the wonderful care provided by volunteers – so that we can somehow become one team Rotherham working to improve the quality of life for all 250,000 citizens who live here.”

Rt Hon Dr Denis MacShane MP