Labour’s drink laws rejected by UK public
Our Labour government is isolated in its desire to create a liberalised drinking culture in the UK. In a country where the ability to drink with restraint or moderation is singularly lacking it seems our people recognises its failings better than the government does.
Or, should I say, the people of this country are not motivated by the prospect of increased tax revenues in the way the spendthrift chancellor, Gordon Brown, is.
From The Times:
The Times poll found that three fifths (62 per cent) oppose the changes, with a third (34 per cent) in favour. Women are against later opening by 71 per cent to 25. Men are hostile by 52 per cent to 34.
Attitudes to the proposals vary sharply according to age. The only group in favour are 18 to 24-year-olds, by 51 per cent to 47. Just 17 per cent of over-65s back more flexible opening, with 80 per cent against.
Even amongst the group most likely to enjoy the extended hours - the 18 to 24 year olds - the majority is small.
The Government says that local residents will be able to object to disorderly and noisy behaviour outside pubs late at night even after an application has been granted.
Yes, but we’ve always been able to do that. Doesn’t seem to be doing much to curb the vile behaviour of drunken slobs in our town centres though, does it?
By a margin of 50 to 47 per cent, men believe that flexible opening times will help to reduce public disorder because drinkers will not all leave pubs at the same time. More than half of 18 to 24 and 25 to 34-year-olds agree.
If closing times are sufficiently staggered - and I would suggest that ’sufficiently’ staggering closing times means at least an hour between the closure of one large venue before the closure of the next - then the disorder caused by large numbers of people descending on finite resources (taxi firms, burger bars, and so on) may well be lessened. But that type of disorder isn’t all there is. Drunken behaviour can involve fighting amongst themselves as well as anybody else they come across, vandalism, vomiting and urinating in the street and general threatening and boorish behaviour.
The government has already been warned by Britain’s judges:
“Those who routinely see the consequences of drink-fuelled violence in offences of rape, grievous bodily harm and worse on a daily basis are in no doubt that an escalation of offences of this nature will inevitably be caused by the relaxation of liquor licensing which the Government has now authorised.”
Britain’s penchant for alcoholic debauchery should be regarded as a social ill that requires addressing. For this government, it’s simply a cash cow that needs milking…
