As usual, the Filthy Smoker tells it as it really is, and completely destroys the very weak argument that minimum alcohol pricing might in some way help pubs (strong language alert).
And do you know what? Even if they make the minimum price £2.50 per unit, I will still not be returning to the pub. Why? Because I am not standing in the f*****g street to drink a pint of beer...If you're wondering why I've used a few asterisks, it's because I want my posting at least to be readable in offices and other places where Internet filters are in operation.
The SLTA and CAMRA are making a big mistake co-operating with latter-day temperance groups on this minimum pricing issue. They are not people who can be reasoned with because they are not reasonable people. They cannot be appeased. They cannot be compromised with. The government has no right - no right at all - to decide how much a drink should cost. That should be the only message the politicians hear on this issue. And for anyone in the pub industry to collaborate with these puritans in a selfish attempt to undo the damage that occurred last time they got tricked by them is nothing short of pathetic.
Minimum pricing, or price rationing as I call it, is a contentious issue within CAMRA. There was a fairly ineffectual for and against 'debate' in a CAMRA publication. It was ineffectual as neither side put up a credible argument. On my own blog, I (a CAMRA member) have come down firmly against price rationing. If you're interested, go to: http://rednev-rearm.blogspot.com/2009/08/price-of-booze.html
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, RedNev - I've added your blog to my links :-)
ReplyDeleteRegarding the poll, shouldn't where kids are allowed be up to the pub owner?
ReplyDeleteOf course it is up to the licensee when and where children are admitted, but licensees also have to take customer preferences into account, otherwise they will lose business. The poll is simply to determine what kind of policy people prefer.
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