More hypocrisy about saving the pub...

****

There's an Early Day Motion:

That this House notes that beer and pubs contribute 21 billion to UK GDP and support almost one million jobs, almost half of them for 16 to 24 year olds; acknowledges that brewing is one of British manufacturing's success stories; believes that 2012, as a year of national celebrations, is the perfect time to recognise the economic and social value of great British beer and the pub industry; and so urges the Government to listen to consumer and industry groups, including the British Beer and Pub Association, the Society of Independent Brewers and the Campaign for Real Ale, who have united to call on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to support Britain's beer and pub sector by suspending the beer duty escalator to help reduce pub closures, create 5,000 additional jobs and ensure pub going remains an affordable leisure activity.

Let's be clear, I support this idea - indeed, duty on alcohol should be dropped across the board. But am I alone in being irritated by MPs moaning about the decline in pubs when, by their very actions, they contributed to that decline?

Of the 97 MPs who have signed this EDM, 47 voted to ban smoking in pubs. I make that 47 people who should hang their heads in shame at the death of the pub.

Here's a list of those MPs:
 

Peter Bottomley (Con), James Clappison (Con), David Anderson (Lab), Adrian Bailey (Lab), Kevin Barron (Lab), Clive Betts (Lab), Tom Brake (LD), Annette Brooke (LD), Lorely Burt (LD), Menzies Campbell (LD), Martin Caton (Lab), Tom Clarke (Lab), Rosie Cooper (Lab), Jim Dobbin (Lab), Frank Doran (Lab), Jim Dowd (Lab), Louise Ellman (Lab), Paul Flynn (Lab), Don Foster (LD), Mike Gapes (Lab), Andrew George (LD), Mike Hancock (LD), Stephen Hepburn (Lab), David Heyes (Lab), Jimmy Hood (Lab), Martin Horwood (LD), George Howarth (Lab), Gerald Kaufman (Lab), John Leech (LD), Tony Lloyd (Lab), Steve McCabe (Lab), John McDonnell (Lab), Alan Meale (Lab), Austin Mitchell (Lab), John Pugh (LD), Linda Riordan (Lab), John Robertson (Lab), Dan Rogerson (LD), Bob Russell (LD), Dennis Skinner (Lab), Gerry Sutcliffe (Lab), Mark Tami (Lab), Joan Walley (Lab), Robert Walter (Con), Hywel Williams (PC), Mark Williams (LD), Mike Wood (Lab)

....