Chair of the Labour Party, Ellie Reeves MP, has written to Rishi Sunak to complain about Esther McVey's recent comments about Keir Starmer's upcoming smoking ban.
Ms Reeves posted to X:
Esther McVey’s use of Niemöller’s words was deeply offensive and misguided, and well below the standards we should expect from an MP and former Cabinet minister.
Rishi Sunak and those hoping to lead the Tory Party should condemn her actions.
Ellie Reeves' letter in full:
30/08/24
Dear Rishi,
I am writing to ask you to publicly condemn the words of Esther McVey, one of your fellow Conservative MPs and a former Cabinet minister. Last night, Ms McVey used a confessional by the German pastor Martin Niemöller, which describes German inaction in the face of the Nazi regime, to draw a parallel with this government's proposed Smoking Bill.
Repeating part of Niemöller's famous confessional, Ms McVey added: 'pertinent words re Starmer's smoking ban'. Such a comparison is immensely offensive, insensitive, and tasteless. It should never have been made.
MeVey has subsequently doubled down and failed to include any kind of apology or acknowledgement that her original post caused great offence.
At July's General Election, Ms McVey stood on a platform which included a commitment to bring forward a Tobacco and Vapes Bill, just as the Labor manifesto similarly pledged to tackle one of this country's biggest killers.
The responsibility for condemning such a reprehensible analogy falls to you as the Leader of the Conservative Party, but also at the feet of those individuals looking to replace you. The Board of Deputies of British Jews and other figures in the Jewish community have condemned Ms McVey's words. Will you join them?
It is not just in the interests of decent and respectful public debate - but also in the interest of all decent Conservatives - that this kind of language is roundly condemned. I call on the six leadership contenders to distance themselves from Ms McVey's deeply offensive and misguided remarks. I am copying this letter to each of them.
Yours sincerely
Ellie Reeves MP
Chair of the Labour Party
https://twitter.com/elliereeves/status/1829512685756576004
