I know you will find this hard to believe but it appears that if you allow 24 hour drinking then alcohol-fuelled anti-social behaviour increases. A real surprise I know, who could have predicted that when this Labour government decided that introducing 24 hour drinking would create a European style cafe culture. The latest crime statistics show a 136% increase in public order offences over the last four years. Again, who would have believed that allowing pubs and clubs to stay open longer and serve drinks longer would lead to drink-related disorder problems happening in the early hours of the morning rather than at the old closing times.
The result of our Labour masters deciding to de-restrict drinking hours is more alcohol fuelled violence, happening later in the evening which means more police having to be deployed at these very unsocial hours which means less police around during the more normal hours that people might need them.
The Government response, a spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said "The recent evaluation of The Licensing Act showed that it has not led to an increase in crime and disorder". You have to admire these people, many of them have "believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast" on a regular basis.
Can you tell me exactly how many pubs and bars in England (excluding airports) are actually open 24 hours a day? Can you tell me what is the average length of time pub hours have been extended since '24 hour drinking' was introduced?
ReplyDeleteThought not.
I didn't claim that all, or even a large number of, drinking establishments were open 24/7. This Labour government just enabled them to do so, subject to... However a large number have, since the introduction of the legislation, extended their opening hours to the small hours with the predictable undesirable results. That was my point, got it now?
ReplyDeleteNot really.
ReplyDeleteProbably fewer than a dozen places have 24-hour drinking. Most pubs and bars have extended their hours by about an hour at weekends. If there has been an increase in "alcohol-fuelled anti-social behaviour" it simply mirrors the corresponding increase in non-alcohol fuelled anti-social behavior.
"24-hour drinking" is a nice moral-panic sounding phrase, but has little to do with what's happening on our streets at two or three o'clock in the morning. There are a few other things that Labour (and other) governments have done (or not done) that have had more effect on permitting antisocial behaviour than adding an hour or so onto pub opening times.
To quote Ralph McTell, "Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London, I'll show you something to make you change your mind"
ReplyDeleteNo change there, then.
ReplyDeleteYou clearly are not paying attention. "Streets of London" is about the poverty stricken old, not young drunks.
ReplyDelete