A Tory MP is set to launch a bid to amend the smoking ban next week, claiming the legislation has "failed" for pubs and clubs.
David Nuttall, MP for Bury North, will table a 10-minute Rule Bill in the House of Commons on Wednesday (October 13) calling for pubs and private members' clubs to be exempt from the ban.
Nuttall told ThePublican.com: "It [the ban] has had the effect of hastening the closure of many pubs. It's not just smokers that have suffered, it's non-smokers too."
Nuttall, who describes himself as a "devout non-smoker", said pubs should be given the choice over whether to allow smoking.
"The idea is to hand power back to the people," he said. "Let's put the local back into localism."
A 10-minute Rule Bill is a type of private members' Bill, but generally they do not become law. Instead they are used by MPs to highlight an issue.