You can't get drunk on whisky
You may recall my rather cynical view on the stupidity of the proposed minimum pricing for alcohol being flagged up by this increasingly puritanical Government.
Now we have an even better, and stupider pronouncement from the Justice Minister:
With a bottle of Whisky costing as little as £8 in some supermarkets, any minimum pricing is going to increase that price so it is inevitably going to have affect the industry.
No-one envisages the neds getting wasted on a 18 year-old malt (which is what I think the Minister was trying to say, rather than what we wanted to imply), but if you up the price of beer and Buckfast then the spirits are going to be consumed (even) more and more.
However, the big dichotomy for ther Government is their love of the Scottish alcohol industry and their heavy-handed parentalistic (and patronising) attitude towards the consumption of alcohol in Scotland.
Now we have an even better, and stupider pronouncement from the Justice Minister:
"Scotch whiskies are one of the best known Scottish products and a star in ourAny see the problem with restriction of trade and protectionism, that Europe will jump up and down on?Homecoming campaign. This Government is firm in its support for our distillers.
"As a Government, we are very clear that our plans for minimum pricing will not affect this important industry. Minimum pricing is about ending the pocket money prices and irresponsible promotions that encourage people to buy and drink large amounts of alcohol.
With a bottle of Whisky costing as little as £8 in some supermarkets, any minimum pricing is going to increase that price so it is inevitably going to have affect the industry.
No-one envisages the neds getting wasted on a 18 year-old malt (which is what I think the Minister was trying to say, rather than what we wanted to imply), but if you up the price of beer and Buckfast then the spirits are going to be consumed (even) more and more.
However, the big dichotomy for ther Government is their love of the Scottish alcohol industry and their heavy-handed parentalistic (and patronising) attitude towards the consumption of alcohol in Scotland.
5 comments:
The minister has not had a drink since he spent a night at HM pleasure while a member of the Tartan Army. Just because he cannot handle his drink, does not mean true Scotsmen cannot handle it.
Oh, spare us the "true Scotsmen" pish, will you.
okay, let me get this straight, a man goes into jail for too much drinking, and he doesn't come out and start back on the flagon again - how irresponsible (!)
SNP: trying to curb the careless greed of supermarkets and the booze industry, save people's lives, ease some pressure on the NHS and cut out the booze-fuelled menace that exists in almost every city in the country.
New Labour: trying to recover from Iraq, Afghanistan, the horror of Tony Bliar and having in his place a Prime Minister who wasn't actually voted into office.
I'm voting SNP in 2010.
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