War on drinking: right or wrong?
Thursday, August 16, 2007 
I may be wrong, but when I was growing up in Scotland you weren't allowed to take your drink outside the pub. Nor were you able to see inside the pub from the street because the windows had frosted glass. (The idea, I believe, was to stop 'minors' seeing adults drinking.) Pubs shut at 10.00pm and everyone had to buy their round - which meant that between nine and ten there was a mad rush to consume as many pints as possible before you had to leave.
The first time I went into a pub and got served I must have been 14. I was 18 (and at university) before it became an intoxicating habit. We weren't 'binge drinkers' because we couldn't afford to be, but we did get pleasantly tipsy and - occasionally - we got pie-eyed. When we were drunk we fell about laughing, or we fell asleep, or we felt queasy and some of us may even have been sick.
At no point did we EVER get drunk and become violent or break the law in other ways. (I was completely sober, m'lud, that night we nicked some traffic cones.) We knew right from wrong - even when we'd had a few.
This week, in the wake of a terrible, disgusting murder, it is being suggested that the drinking age could be raised to 21, or that drinking might be banned in the street. Others would like to see the price of alcohol increased, and the 24-hour drinking laws repealed. Even the Daily Telegraph, the most libertarian of all our newspapers, had a leader entitled the 'Curse of cheap booze', as if 'cheap booze' is the problem.
What's going on? Yes, some people drink too much, and some become anti-social and violent as a result. But the vast majority (I suggest) do not. Why, yet again, should the majority suffer for the actions of a minority?
Instead of penalising everyone, surely this is a matter for the police (and the authorities generally) to target those who break existing laws? Why do we need stiffer rules and regulations when the legislation already exists to weed out violent, anti-social criminals?
David Green, director of Civitas, has written an excellent piece in today's Telegraph. The title says it all: 'Alcohol ban is no answer; proper policing is'. Full article HERE.
Reader Comments (12)
When the Telegraph leader writers are drawing a modest old age pension they will be glad of a cheap supermarket pint.
Haven't you heard? We're governed by people who have no concept of normal life in this country, no concept of what really causes anything, and no concept of how to get to the root of it. I remember a politician saying once that once a person works from the Palace of Westminster, they spend so much time there that they completely lose touch with real life.
Us ordinary people keep trying to tell them the truth, but they continue to listen to focus groups, pressure groups and the PC brigade, and they pay too much attention to surveys - mistakenly thinking that they truly reflect public opinion.
If youngsters are out of control then the booze might fuel it, but it certainly doesn't cause it. The traditional causes are the same as they always has been:
Poor education ('nothing better to do')
Insufficient facilities ('nowhere to go')
No sense of a future ('what's the point?')
...and now we have a few new government-induced ones to add to those:
ASBO aspiration ('want badge of honour')
Over-regulation ('stop controlling me')
No discipline ('I'll report you for abuse')
The trouble with politicians in the UK is they think that the happy-clappy PC brigade knows what's best for us (i.e. crucifying freedom of speech & crushing our liberties) - and yet WE live our lives and WE know what's best for us as individuals and individual families.
One size does not fit all. Never has and never will.
If any MPs are reading this. I'll give you this for free. Don't bother wasting millions of our money on research and 'new initiatives'. Just give the discipline back to parents and schools, back away from all the PC crap and restore freedom of speech, reverse the recent bans, sort out the over-zealousness of council officials, put bobbies back on the beat, stop imprisoning people for ridiculous things like non-payment of Council Tax, sort out the terrorist threat without threatening the rest of us, stop listening to surveys and thinking you're 'in touch' with ordinary people, you're not. Either 'come down' to our level and experience reality, or just admit that you have no idea and no justification in involving yourselves in our day to day lives. Manage the economy and protect our borders. That's all we want from you. Otherwise, get off our backs for chrissakes.
Very eloquently put Struggling Spirit. I just wish HMG would butt of things they have no concept of or understanding and stop trying to control us. If Cameron was only to say he would give us back our freedom and pledge to minimise interference from central government, he may, just may, stand a chance of upseating the grotesque Gordie. We live in hope.
Thanks Bill, and you're right. When we had 'adversarial' politics, at least we had a choice. It is choice itself that has been flushed down the crapper, and with it, any sense of owning our own lives, our own decisions. I feel exactly like one of those teenagers in that I am wondering "what's the point?"
An article on the Cambridge Evening News site shows that "Political Correctness gone made" is a major reason given for leaving the country. I call myself "Struggling Spirit" precisely because it is becoming harder and harder for me to summon up the will to stay in this country of my birth.
Asbos's as I understand stands for Anti Social Behaviour Order. If so, why haven't they been served on the Morons that cause the most Anti Social Behaviour - ASH, Politicians and the NHS?
I agree with Struggling Spirit. I remember feeling rebellious enough as a teenager, although I never got into trouble. I grew up, of course. But, as he says, lately I've been feeling those emotions all over again. Anger, resentment, hostility. Being told what to do even though I'm an adult; having people telling me what's good for me a hundred times a day. I wouldn't be at all surprised if this anti-drinking legislation came in - after all, the smokers have had it, now it's the turn of the drinkers. Our freedom is being taken away from us bit by bit. Because a few people can't control themselves, we've all got to suffer. In the mainstream press, no-one seems to care or even notice.
"Even the Daily Telegraph, the most libertarian of all our newspapers"
Had to laugh at that, Simon! I notice the Telegraph was very “libertarian” in opposing the hunting ban (because it mostly penalised posh people), but has been, throughout, quietly supportive of the smoking ban (because it mostly penalised working-class people).
Hi there Mat,
Just wanted to point out that in fact I think the Telegraph has been more against the ban than for it - in fact, as the ban came in, their editorial made a cogent argument that if only one or two percent of English smokers gave up, the loss of liberty the ban entails would be unsupportable. In Scotland, I hear around 15,000 people have given up smoking - this is, I believe, not even two percent...
Such a dull, boring piece of legislation.
It seems grossly unfair that the large majority of us who enjoy a drink but who are not binge drinkers should be penalised by having to pay higher tax purely because of those people who do binge drink.
I believe that Binge drinking is a police matter because these people are disturbing the peace. Higher tax on alcohol will not make a difference and I think that it is naive and unfair on the rest of us to think that it will.
Remember those people who bring in these new bans alwaysa exempt theirselves
Remember those people who bring in these new bans always exempt theirselves
I feel as you do cathy - anger resentment etc, and above all STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO! unfortunately, we seem to have an industry in creating 'paperpushing jobs' with a large income and decent pension - and other perks - govenment funded to 'steer' society and control people smoking, drinking, burger eating, whatever takes their fancy it seems, these are new careers, and as such these folk have to be seen to make a difference, a career change is needed - give the power back to the people, give us back our self-respect, allow us to be adults,make our own informed choices. I too would 'run away from home' if i could afford it, and as i no longer travel for holidays due to nowhere to smoke i have begun my running away from home' fund!