by Ian Stewart
So, a government that is headed by a man who made some of his fortune through selling “Pink Pussies” in Tiger Tiger bars (via his vital work as a director of Urbium plc bar company in the early 2000s) has woken up to the problem of excessive alcohol consumption.
Obviously not 25 Year Old Islay Malt, nor Chateau Petrus, no – nothing wrong could ever happen if you drink expensively, could it? It is those other drinks, the common drinks, which cause all the problems. After all, who ever heard of, say, well-heeled Oxford students running about causing perturbation & fear?
The drinks business that is the making, exporting and selling of alcohol in the UK is, profits-wise, doing pretty well during our austerity times. Yet, beneath the balance sheets of the likes of Diageo and SAB Miller and the ever-enthusiastic reviews of new bars and products in the press, there is a continuing crisis.
Ever since supermarkets were allowed to join the off-licence trade, bringing in a race to the bottom in price terms, there have been ever-increasing number of pub closures and ever harsher terms for leaseholders. The big pub companies have lead the way in vertical drinking establishments, telling us to “drink responsibly” whilst discounting shots and jugs of nasty cocktails to compete, driving out independents where they can.
Pub companies now mainly see their leased stock as a potential source of revenue – not from what they sell, but in what they could achieve on the property market. This has hit rural areas particularly hard. All the while, alcohol consumption has risen to almost pre-1914 levels, after a sustained fall overall until the 1970s.
With deregulation profits soared and drinking habits changed. Yes, we eat out more, and drink more wine now than ever before. But unlike our continental cousins we seem to drink that Aussie Shiraz like beer. So the problems of drinking too much too fast – public disorder, private agony, illness, misery and working days lost have increased.
Step forward Theresa May and her universal solution – minimum pricing. There is some evidence that this will help in some areas, but this is a measure designed to hit one section of society, the working class and unemployed. Yup, it’s the plebs and chavs again – as if the only problem with alcohol could be encapsulated in a single episode of Shameless. Of course, “reasonable”, “average” (that would be middle and upper class) drinkers will not be affected by this measure.
Whilst minimum pricing may help in some cases, has anyone thought about one near certain unintended consequence – that of increased smuggling? Obviously the reduced numbers of our police forces will be able to cope as rugged entrepreneurial types provide cut-price grog to thirsty consumers. You can bet your liver that it won’t all be made in above board distilleries either…
We need to tackle more than just price, although it is a factor. We need to tackle the selling and buying culture that has mushroomed since relaxation of our alcohol laws. A new responsibility needs to be forced upon an industry that pays only lip service to its social obligations.
Just as it took the minimum wage to make them recognise that paying a half-decent wage is only fair, the booze industry needs to be woken up to responsible selling, by the state.
If Theresa May wishes us to look at the examples of both Canada and Scotland over pricing, perhaps we should point her in the direction of Australia.
Down under, before you even serve a schooner of Carlton, you need to hold a Responsible Service of Alcohol certificate (RSA). The course is not expensive, and it would forcibly enhance the hand of managers and staff in refusal to serve alcohol to the already drunk or under age, no matter what targets and pressure they are placed under.
At the moment only a personal licence holder has anything to fear from serving the drunk or underage. What the RSA means in practical term is that all staff who serve alcohol must be trained in basic alcohol awareness and the law. It also can be taken away, which means that as a barkeep, or wine waiter, you are within your rights to tell an unscrupulous boss to sod off if they pressure you to break the law – reversing centuries of tradition in the bar trade.
The RSA scheme has also led to a separation of alcohol from food and household goods in Australian supermarkets, as no supermarket chain will pay to train all their staff to sell alcohol. In a way, it favours a return to the old off licence model of alcohol retail, separating those £10 spirits and beer crate offers from the weekly shop. This, given our increasing habit of drinking at home, is vital.
In Australia supermarket chains still sell a great selection of wines, but they are in a totally separate section, generally walled off from the main shop, and staffed by specialist staff, not harassed eighteen year olds facing long queues.
We also need to be seriously realistic about alcohol awareness education in our schools and colleges, and we need to perhaps be realistic that throughout history there have always been people on these islands who enjoy a drink just a bit too much.
We should also look at creating a law of corporate responsibility that would punish those at the top of this business, who currently get away scot-free. At the bare minimum we need to ensure that these companies pay their fair share of tax. Oh, and VAT – how about grading it on alcohol by volume? This certainly seems fairer to the independent small brewers out there, producing fine ales that we should be proud of, instead of alcopops.
The UK drinks industry has had its own way on regulation for far too long. It is like asking a four year old what they want to eat every day.
No industry that was ever consulted asked for more regulation. Yet to save the real pleasure of taste that we can all enjoy from moderate consumption, the booze barons, the drinking public, and Theresa May need to get real.
Ian Stewart has over twenty years’ experience in the bar and hotel industry, and would like a Broadside, if you’re buying…
Tags: David Cameron, Ian Stewart, minimum alcohol price, Theresa May
