Off licence sales
The Electric Crofter is slightly less cynical than his colleagues, and I welcomed almost everything in Alex Salmond's speech last week.
I think that it is filled with good ideas and the real test will be delivering the big promises that have been made. Like many other voters, I think that he needs a chance to succeed, and show us he is not like all the others. Of course, if he fails then the Electric Crofter household will respond in the appropriate manner in the ballot box.
One policy implication hit me straight between the eyes this weekend, and I realised that it might have a wider and more detrimental impact here in the islands.
Our eldest decided to meet some friends over the weekend, and it was agreed that they would each buy a few drinks before meeting at someone's house to listen to music, watch films, or whatever else they do. Eldest is 20 and all their friends are the same age, and none of them drink much at all, and they don't like going into pubs. Indeed almost all their weekends are staid sober affairs.
Eldest pointed out to us the next morning that under the planned new policy restricting sales at off-licences to over 21s they wouldn't have been able to get their small carry out from the local shop but would have had to drive many miles to Stornoway to go into a pub and then drive back.
Whilst that may dissuade that group from drinking in a civilised manner, the view from the young adults was that it would only encourage the less restrained to make a trip to the big city for a night out, an inevitably someone will try to drive back home.
My initial reaction is that eldest is right, and that those who are supposed to be prevented from drinking by this policy might actually be pushed into travelling to drink. And not by bus.
I think that it is filled with good ideas and the real test will be delivering the big promises that have been made. Like many other voters, I think that he needs a chance to succeed, and show us he is not like all the others. Of course, if he fails then the Electric Crofter household will respond in the appropriate manner in the ballot box.
One policy implication hit me straight between the eyes this weekend, and I realised that it might have a wider and more detrimental impact here in the islands.
Our eldest decided to meet some friends over the weekend, and it was agreed that they would each buy a few drinks before meeting at someone's house to listen to music, watch films, or whatever else they do. Eldest is 20 and all their friends are the same age, and none of them drink much at all, and they don't like going into pubs. Indeed almost all their weekends are staid sober affairs.
Eldest pointed out to us the next morning that under the planned new policy restricting sales at off-licences to over 21s they wouldn't have been able to get their small carry out from the local shop but would have had to drive many miles to Stornoway to go into a pub and then drive back.
Whilst that may dissuade that group from drinking in a civilised manner, the view from the young adults was that it would only encourage the less restrained to make a trip to the big city for a night out, an inevitably someone will try to drive back home.
My initial reaction is that eldest is right, and that those who are supposed to be prevented from drinking by this policy might actually be pushed into travelling to drink. And not by bus.
5 comments:
These are absurd, money and time wasting ideas typical of todays politicians. Be seen to be doing something while actually doing nothing that is likely to have any effect on the issue in hand at all.
If legal access had anything to do with use or abuse, then we would already have no underage drinkers nor any drug users.
Higher drinking ages have been in operation in other countries, as have lower ones. What is clear is that culture has much influence over substance use, more so than legislation.
Kids drink for a variety of reasons, and we now live in a culture where both drug and alchohol use and abuse are celebrated, often in the media, as completely normal. Restricting teenagers and young adults' access to alcohol through legal means will almost certainly increase the attractiveness of more available alternatives i.e drugs.
does anyone know why the busses stopped running after a certain time of night? I'm sure when i was younger that you could get buses past midnight...
Buses are run by private firms, if people don't use them they don't make money and therefore don't last long.
If a local authority wants they can put non commercial services out to tender but the money has to come from somewhere.
This blog is no longer fun now that Angus isn't fronting it and it's now anon.
I think that the blogger should care to mention the fact that this is operational in some local autority areas (such as South Ayrshire) as a pilot. The whole point of this is to try and combat anti-social behaviour from under age drinkers.
I wouldnt be surprised if this law is passed to be implemented in areas only where under-age drinking is a real problem to society.
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