tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14422435.post758117938272348345..comments2024-10-25T13:58:36.797+01:00septicislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03369157723084834549noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14422435.post-24362901643129062452010-01-20T21:49:58.367+00:002010-01-20T21:49:58.367+00:00I quite agree on the government being in the hands of the Portman group - they seem determined to shaft the pubs while letting the supermarkets carry on with their predatory tactics, although considering that&#39;s been the consistent economic policy of the last 13 years it&#39;s not much of a surprise.<br /><br />The health argument though also doesn&#39;t take into account what I went over in the last paragraph - it just wants the effect neutered without wondering about the cause. And despite dealing with the real world, those angling for a crackdown also don&#39;t seem to realise that it&#39;s going to take far more than just increasing the price to even begin to deal with the problem.septicislehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03369157723084834549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14422435.post-81163348994361194662010-01-20T09:55:34.773+00:002010-01-20T09:55:34.773+00:00I don&#39;t agree on the sledgehammer &amp; the nut. Current (English) government policy is to focus almost exclusively on binge drinking, considered mainly as a law and order problem, &amp; try and engineer it out of the system. Other forms of drinking, and other ways in which it might present a problem (e.g. health, driving) don&#39;t get a look in, and you could be forgiven for thinking the government was all in favour of people getting quietly and &#39;responsibly&#39; leathered on a regular basis. This is no coincidence, as the (English) government&#39;s policy is very largely formed by the Portman Group - a lobby group for the alcohol industry. It&#39;s a classic case of regulatory capture - the industry taking over the body that&#39;s trying to regulate it.<br /><br />More people in Britain, and more younger people, are drinking more, stronger alcoholic drinks than they were when Labour came to power. This is a massive health problem waiting to happen. The law of supply and demand is the obvious place to intervene. The difference between England and Scotland in this respect is that the Scottish government listens to the medics.Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07009879034507926661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14422435.post-37538198961246862232010-01-20T01:07:19.662+00:002010-01-20T01:07:19.662+00:00Yes, you would have thought that the McCanns had learnt their lesson...jailhouselawyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03795278184797990706noreply@blogger.com