Publican Party seeks to smoke out voters

Published on Friday 23 February 2007 01:23

A PARTY which hopes to attract the votes of angry smokers launched its election campaign yesterday, claiming it could win up to four seats in the Scottish Parliament in May.

The Publican Party, which will contest the election on the simple premise of a partial lifting of the smoking ban, announced it would be standing candidates in four of Scotland's eight regions. Kit Fraser, the chairman of the party and a publican from Inverness, said smokers were being treated "like cattle" and made to stand outside to smoke.

He said the Publican Party would stand up for all those who objected to the smoking ban and hoped to win enough support to reform the legislation.

Mr Fraser said: "We all want clean air, but we believe there should be a separate ventilated room for smokers in pubs.

"There is a huge amount of outrage out there," he added. "There is an unholy alliance between the media and government in Scotland, they are both run by the middle classes. There are a lot of working people out there who, when they finish their working day, want to relax with a pint and a cigarette, and they don't want to be treated like second-class citizens."

The Publican Party intends to stand for the parliament in the Highlands and Islands, Mid Scotland and Fife, the Lothians and one other region which is yet to be confirmed.