It is widely being reported that government ministers are facing huge calls by peers this week to put a ban on smoking outside pubs, bars and restaurants.
Ministers are being urged to address outdoor smoking and the uses of designated smoking areas in the interest of public health as “pavement drinks”, alfresco dining and outdoor socialising continues to be widely embraced by many hospitality establishments after post-lockdown reopenings amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
A group of cross-party peers are believed to be set to challenge ministers in Parliament today during a debate on emergency planning legislation and are set to force a vote on the issue next week.
According to The i, the peers are to table an amendment to the Business and Planning Bill which stipulates that pavement licences should only be granted by a local authority subject to the condition that smoking is banned.
Deborah Arnott, the Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said: “Making smoke-free status a condition for all pavement licences sets a level playing field for business and the public, and has strong public support, which will make it easy to enforce.”
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Alison Cox, Director of Prevention at Cancer Research UK, added that: “The pandemic has changed the way we live and most of us are spending more time outside, but being stuck in a queue or outside a café, escaping second hand smoke isn’t an easy option anymore.”
“Second-hand smoke is harmful and can be unpleasant to those nearby and smoke-free environments are important in protecting people and denormalising smoking in society.”
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As many streets in Manchester city centre, primarily in the Northern Quarter and surrounding areas, have become temporarily pedestrianised to allow for additional al-fresco dining/drinking tables in the name of social distancing, and with similar set-ups seen throughout the boroughs too, is outdoor smoking becoming something of a growing concern to patrons in our county?
Here at The Manc, we always want to know where you stand.
Ahead of a parliamentary decision, we were keen to find out whether a ban would be be supported, or viewed as unnecessary in Greater Manchester, so we took to our audience of loyal Mancunians on Facebook and Twitter to ask – ‘Do you think smoking should be banned outside restaurants/bars?’
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Here’s what you said:
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Facebook
Over on Facebook, we put the question to our 500,000+ followers and invited all manner of response.
We received an overwhelmingly active response from our audience to this question and therefore haven’t been able to include every single comment in this article. Instead, we chose to feature a range of responses which seemed to resonate best with others and amass the most interactions overall.
If you are keen to have a read of the rest of the responses and have your say, you can head on over to the post on our Facebook page here.
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Twitter
When it came to Twitter, we chose to ask the simple ‘yes/no’ question, and in the two-hour time frame to which the poll was running for, we received a total of 1,034 votes.
According to the standings, voting appeared closer than ever.
Whilst results were running neck and neck throughout the majority of the two-hour period, they finally edged over and signalled that voters feel a ban on smoking outside of pubs, bars and restaurants in England is not necessary and should not take effect.
51% of voters felt a ban would not be needed under current circumstances, whereas only 49% indicated they would like to see one put in place.
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Follow-up responses to this poll were also invited and can be viewed here.
Are you keen to have your say?
If you’ve not yet had the chance to respond our poll, then there is still time to head on over to @TheMancUK on Twitter to take part, leave your thoughts and discuss matters with other Mancunians in the same, or different positions to you.
Do you think smoking should be banned outside of pubs and restaurants?
The Manc is helping local businesses and venues get back on their feet after lockdown with our #BuzzingToBeBack campaign – offering as much support and exposure for Manchester hospitality as possible.
Read more about what we’re doing for the industry here.
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For the latest information, guidance and support during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the UK, please do refer to the gov.uk website here.
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Liam Gallagher apologises on Noel’s behalf for brother’s ‘p*ss poor’ Joy Division cover
Emily Sergeant
Liam Gallagher has issued an apology “on behalf of [his] family” for his brother’s cover of a song by another legendary Manchester band.
Stop the presses, breaking news – the Gallagher brothers are slagging each other off again.
In what will be a shock to absolutely no one, Liam Gallagher has hopped onto his favourite social media platform Twitter once again this week to take another unprovoked aim at his beloved older brother – and this time, call him out for his recent cover of the iconic 1980 hit ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ by fellow Manchester band Joy Division.
Noel Gallagher recently performed a rendition of the Joy Division classic on BBC Radio 2 as part of the radio station’s popular Piano Room series, and was accompanied by his band, High Flying Birds, for the track, alongside the BBC Concert Orchestra.
The former Oasis co-lead vocalist and guitarist explained that he had chosen to cover the song as he would often play “this version of it at home down the years”.
But Noel did reveal to host Vernon Kay that he was cautious about doing so, and went on to express some initial trepidation about performing his rendition and putting it out into the world, mainly because “it’s such an iconic song, and being from Manchester… well, this is going to be tricky.”
The 56-year-old admitted he kept asking himself “How can I get away with that?”
He continued: “But now I’ve got my own studio, I went and did a little demo of it and I was like ‘you know what? I think I might be able to pull this off.”
One person who clearly didn’t think Noel could “pull this off” was his brother Liam, though.
Reacting to the cover in typical Liam Gallagher fashion, the former Oasis frontman wrote in a now-viral tweet yesterday evening: “I must once again apologise on behalf of my family for r kid’s p*ss poor and damn rite blasphemous version of Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart.
“Tut f***ing tut SORRY.”
I must once again apologise on behalf of my family for Rkids piss poor and damn rite blasphemous version of joy division’s love will tear us apart tut fucking tut SORRY
And unfortunately for Noel, the comments underneath BBC Radio 2’s post of a snippet of the cover on its official Instagram account appears to show that a fair few others agree with Liam on this one.
“If you wanna win a race, choose NG as a competitor. The only one that’s been able to destroy Oasis, his band, the music. Terrible cover,” one person wrote.
“That’s a terrible terrible cover,” another person simply stated.
A third wrote in the comments: “Kinda sounds boring doesn’t it? I love Noel, but this cover ain’t it chief,” while a fourth added: “I hope he realise by himself that this is one of his worst covers ever,” and another, at least politely, claimed it was: “Definitely a bit different to the original.”
Of course, there are two sides to every story though, and there’s also plenty of positive comments and reactions under the video too to balance out the less-than-favourable takes.
So for now, this exchange will just get added to the seemingly never-ending Gallagher row saga.
Featured Image – BBC
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Chester Zoo calls for runners to take on new charity 10k to help ‘save endangered animals’
Emily Sergeant
Chester Zoo is calling for thousands of runners to take on a charity 10k through the zoo’s grounds in a bid to help save one of its many endangered species.
The UK’s biggest charity zoo is looking for 2,500 runners of all abilities to sign up for its brand-new ‘Run for Nature‘ later this year – which begins inside the zoo’s 128-acre grounds, and sees participants race past the elephant, giant otter, and giraffe habitats, all before heading out and around the wider countryside estate.
As well as the 10k route, there’s also a special one-mile ‘zoom’ fun run around the zoo, which is perfect for energetic kids under 12.
All runners will get a medal when they cross the finish line, and there’ll even be some exciting prizes up for grabs for those who raise the most money.
Chester Zoo calls for runners to take on new charity 10k through its grounds and beyond / Credit: Chester Zoo
Taking place on Sunday 24 September, all funds raised from the run will go towards the Chester Zoo’s ongoing and extremely-important efforts to find a vaccine for a deadly virus that threatens endangered elephant populations all across the world – which is known as Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV).
Scientists at the zoo are currently in the middle of the world’s first vaccine pilot study to fight the virus, and hope that proceeds raised from the upcoming events can help “create a future where Asian elephants survive and thrive.”
“We’re so excited to be able to offer places for 2,500 fundraisers to run our first ever 10k Run for Nature later this year,” explained Hannah Wright, Fundraising Lead at Chester Zoo.
Runners will raise money to help the zoo’s efforts to save endangered Asian elephants / Credit: Chester Zoo
“As a charity, fundraising is at the core of this event, but we also hope that it’s a great fun event that the whole family can get involved in – whether running, supporting or sponsoring.
“All participants will be receive a sustainable medal and top fundraisers will have the opportunity to win a variety of prizes, which include annual memberships, animal experiences, and meal vouchers for our gastro pub, The Oakfield, as well as a selection of animal adoptions.”
Emily Sergeant -
13th July 2020 
