Get your mitts off my pint!!!

[Denzark]

Concept.

Duty rebate for well behaved publicans. If your drinkers cause no problems, then you are not part of the problem. Give a certain number of freebies (you can't prevent a violet arsehole being a violent arsehole, just prevent them being a drunken violent arsehole). Had less than three Police attendances in a year? Boom. Rebate on some of your duty.

Ropey I know, but it is just a concept!

Could also match it with fines against Clubs who have a regular Police presence, ditto 'bargain booze' outlets.

Even as a regular drinker, I see no reason booze should be dirt cheap. I don't want it to be any more expensive, but enable a drop to £3 a pint and I'd be happy!

Concept 2:

To buy faags or booze, you have to buy a license off the Government. Buyers of this license accept any risk to themselves pertaining to their vice, ie if you get lung cancer or cirhossis of the liver (sp?) and a doctor attributes it directly to your vice, you have to pay all bills to NHS. If you commit crime and are found guilty while under the influence, you lose your license and have to pay all damages in full.

Simples.

[Wolfshade]

l think the issue is a cultural one as has been said before other countries have lower age but alcohol is the norm.

I also think, again as has been touched on, there is a collective thought that you can't have fun unless you are drunk. Which I think is a bit of a joke. Either that or it is a sad reflection on society that we cannot have fun if we are sober.

The imbalance between the VAT and VATless is where the problem lies for the pubs. Increased pricing per unit shouldn't really effect beer, unless you are buying the 7p supermarket special beer.

One of the pubs I frequent is a specialist real ale house, no food, monthly exciting cheese evenings, but it does have lots of guest beers ([url]http://www.thewellingtonrealale.co.uk/pages/beerboard.php[/url]) you can see that they are now all at or above the £3/pint mark. Though part of this is because of the limited production runs of some of these.

Where it will have an effect is with the dirt cheap high abv spirits and I would imagine that it is that sort of behaviour which would be curtailed.

[Psychosplodge]

I don't think collectively punishing the vast majority of responsible drinkers is the answer. I think the 2-3 crates for £15 that you get every year in the summer are perfect to keep the cost off BBQs down. But they probably won't be able to do that now.

The problem lies in the lack of respect in the chavvy types today. When I started drinking at about 14, I never did anything that warranted police attention as even pissed, I still wasn't a thug - loud yes, violent/destructive no.
The club I used to frequent, I'd never seen police outside at kicking out time, until they started a dub-step night. The more mainstream clubs in all have swarms of police outside them every weekend...draw your own conclusions, but imo it's the type of person you are without the booze that effects the type of person you are drunk...

[Wolfshade]

Worryingly 'Splogy I have almost identical stories. A club in Brum XLs the Saturday Night rock night never had any issues but the other nights it would be raided, it closed when at a private function someone was murdered.

[Psychosplodge]

Doesn't surprise me, I mean you've been to corp I'm assuming it was still like that when you went?

[Wolfshade]

Yup, though my house was within skipping distance so it was fine. I did go to mingdom (kingdom) twice and each ime there was a bevy of cops around at kick out

[Psychosplodge]

Yeah I've only been in there a couple of times, awful place at closing, leadmill is pretty much the same come kicking out time too, and I think they're the better examples of mainstream clubs...

[Mr Mystery]

I can almost feel a grass roots movement growing here.

Seem most people have sympathy with their local, and can quite easily identify the sources of the problem.

In regard to clubs, we can't also rule out the influence of the old Disco Biscuit. Take an inexperienced teenager, and let him watch TV Spaff like 'Skins'. Then introduce him to the grown up world. Bingo bango bongo, off his tits on half a wrap of ajax with 27 shots inside him, because apparently it's 'hella cool'.

Might contact West Kent Camra, see if they fancy supporting. It's really unfair on the struggling publican to shoulder the burden of those able to horribly undercut them.

[Psychosplodge]

I would imagine CAMRA are already involved...

[Mr Mystery]

A fair point well made!

Could also look at reducing the duty levied on Micro Breweries to a pittance. Again, whilst some Ales pack a serious punch (7% and doesn't taste it!) it's not exactly stuff you can get smashed on, as it's too rich. Fizzy lager crap? Yeah. Tastes like weewee, drinks like fizzy pop.

But the current way is the rubbish way.