DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Junk food ad ban is very hard to swallow

Speaking on his first day in No 10, Sir Keir Starmer promised his Government would ‘tread more lightly’ on the lives of voters.

How does this square with the nannying crackdown on junk food advertising that ministers unveiled yesterday?

It’s true, of course, that too much sugar, fat, salt and ultra-processed food are not conducive to good health.

It’s also right to tackle the obesity crisis, which is fuelling rampant diabetes and other diseases, and costing the NHS billions.

So, the Department of Health is banning junk food commercials on TV before 9pm and online at any time from next October.

Yet the list of products deemed too harmful to be viewed until young children are in bed is both arbitrary and absurd.

Adverts for some yoghurts, porridge oats, crumpets and other nutritious foods will be banished beyond the watershed… but it will be okay to promote sausage rolls and pies.

And for what benefit? The Government’s own assessment found this censorship will cut just two calories a day from children’s diets – equal to a tenth of a Jelly Baby. The clampdown will also damage the economy – costing business £199million a year.

Instead of an ad ban, wouldn’t education, exercise and encouraging personal responsibility towards a balanced diet be more likely to win the war on weight?

Perhaps, but that would not represent such a satisfying victory for the finger-wagging puritans of the public health lobby.

So much for the Prime Minister wanting to tread lightly on people’s lives, Labour is trampling over them in hobnail boots.

Put Britain first, PM

At first blush, it was hard to disagree with much of Sir Keir’s first major speech on international affairs on Monday.

The PM rejected the idea he would need to pick sides between the US and Europe as a false choice. ‘The national interest demands we work with both,’ he said.

But if Donald Trump triggers a global tariff war, Sir Keir may not be able to stay benevolently neutral. An ardent Remainer whose party detests Mr Trump, the smart money suggests he would stick with Brussels. That would be a strategic mistake.

The US is a thriving, dynamic economy. The sclerotic EU, by contrast, has ground to a halt. Moreover, the UK has a very different economy to the rest of Europe.

Contrary to the scaremongering of swivel-eyed Remainers, our service exports such as insurance and pensions – typically tariff free – are positively booming post-Brexit.

If Sir Keir is sincere about prioritising the national interest, he will resist the temptation to side with Europe.

But from giving away the Chagos Islands to alienating Israel, he has shown a troubling tendency to not do what’s best for Britain.

A bitter after-taste

Celebrity chef Tom Kerridge was one of 120 business leaders who signed a letter giving their uncritical support to Labour before the election.

Having urged voters to give the party a chance to turbocharge the economy, he is now suffering buyer’s remorse.

He complains the Government’s National Insurance hike will be ‘catastrophic’ for the hospitality industry – the result being a swathe of pub and restaurant closures.

Mr Kerridge’s naivety in believing Labour wouldn’t quickly hammer enterprise with punishing taxes is almost touching.

He and his business chums are learning the hard way that it is pointless cosying up to socialists.