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The nanny state takes it to a whole new level 14 Mar 2009

I hope this is another nail in the coffin for the current administration. There’s no question that significant parts of the British population have issues with alcohol, and that they abuse it. However, imposing swingeing price rises on booze does nothing except piss the rest of us off even more. Has the government not yet realised that things are quite bad enough as it is thank you very much? Why should I pay extra on (already expensive) alcohol, just because some chav likes to get out of his skull on nasty cider?

The government’s top medical adviser has drawn up plans for a minimum price for alcohol which would double the cost of some drinks in England.
Under the proposal from Sir Liam Donaldson, it has been reported that no drinks could be sold for less than 50 pence per unit of alcohol they contain.

BBC news: Plan to raise price of alcohol.

Bah! (Besides, everyone knows that doctors are the worst offenders when it comes to the demon drink…)

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Comments

  1. If I recall from seeing this on the news when I was there, this will only impact extremely inexpensive forms of alcohol -- of the sort here in the states we'd associate with homeless alcoholics; not the beer you're likely to find in your pub, which is already well above that cost.

    Perhaps the proposed rule has changed since I saw that story.Andrew Pollack#
  2. Do you not keep abreast of Scottish news?

    The Scottish Government (SNP) proposed it first:
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7918886.stm

    The irony is that the Scottish Government proposals won't affect the price of Buckfast:
    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article5835438.ece

    …..which makes it clear to me the SNP proposals are one agenda dressed up as another.

    Do you hope it's a nail in the SNP's coffin too?

    I want Scotland to remain a part of the Union. Please be careful how you spray your fire.Ian Scott#
  3. Do you not keep abreast of Scottish news?
    Yes. But I admit it, I’m English. What’s your point?
    Do you hope it's a nail in the SNP's coffin too?
    I don’t really care either way.
    I want Scotland to remain a part of the Union. Please be careful how you spray your fire.
    Eh?Ben Poole#
  4. Thanls for responding as you have.

    There are many Scots who would interpret a "nail in the coffin of the current adminsitration" (which I take to be the Westminster Government) as a call for the same in the Scottish (SNP) Government and who would take umbrage at it coming from south of the border and cite it as further evidence that Scotland should go it alone.

    My request for caution is simply a reflection of the fact that many Scots latch on to English criticism of the SNP or any preceived ignorance of Scottish affairs and turn it in to a case for independence. I think such Scots are wrong but they do it and persist in doing it. Commentators sometimes call it the Scottish political 'dimension'.

    I was really trying to say that a little qualification can go a long way in keeping things together. I wasn't haven't a go at you 8-)Ian Scott#
  5. Ah, understood thanks Ian. Well, when it comes to nationalism, if people are going to take umbrage, that’s their issue; can’t be doing with the overly sensitive :-) Ben Poole#
  6. Ben
    Be fair. Liam Donaldson has proposed this change - and that's one of the things that he's there to do, but the government has (so far) rejected it - even before the recommendation has been formally lodged.

    That's not to say that the Scots aren't further down the same road, though.
    MickMick Moignard#
  7. @6 indeed. Nevertheless, what bugs me in general is the tendency in British politicians to look at punitive measures when dealing with society’s ills, rather than dealing with the whys and wherefores. It’s all about short-term thinking and blunt instruments.Ben Poole#
  8. To return to the issue at hand, booze gets more expensive year-on-year anyway, when the government announces tax rises in the Budget. If politicians insist on interfering, what I’d rather see is a ban on mad “happy hours” in bars, and on loss-leading cheap alcohol in our big supermarkets. Measures like that would be far more effective than blanket price rises.

    I also object to Donaldson categorising heavy drinkers as being the “majority” in this country: patent nonsense (*hic*)Ben Poole#

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