Relaxed drinking laws...

[off_again]

Dont know what to think about this yet as I havent heard what the plan is. But in principle I think its a fairly good idea - reduction of mass-exodus from bars and pubs at the same time has to be a good idea.

But, what does the public and BiB recon?

Is it bad or good - the media seem to make a meal of it at the moment and are saying the police are dead against it. Is this correct?

[Don]

Everyone is dead against anything new. I lived in the last "dry" county in Wales - no pub opening on Sunday...

So when the pubs DID open on Sunday was there a mass exodus from the chapels and churches to the pub?

Well.......

I have no problem with just letting pubs open and shut when they like. So long as their licences ensure loud music and other neighbourhood disturbing practices stop sometime reasonable...like 9:30pm

Seriously - do we really think that people will go into the pub and just keep on drinking because they're not thrown out?

And if there are those that do just that...why should the sensible majoriy be punished for the annoying minority?

[TripleS]

Don said:

Everyone is dead against anything new. I lived in the last "dry" county in Wales - no pub opening on Sunday... So when the pubs DID open on Sunday was there a mass exodus from the chapels and churches to the pub? Well....... I have no problem with just letting pubs open and shut when they like. So long as their licences ensure loud music and other neighbourhood disturbing practices stop sometime reasonable...like 9:30pm Seriously - do we really think that people will go into the pub and just keep on drinking because they're not thrown out? And if there are those that do just that...why should the sensible majoriy be punished for the annoying minority?

I think you're right Don, but unfortunately it is a long established principle that the majority are made to suffer restrictions in an effort to counter the misdeeds of the minority. To me it is highly objectionable, and it is time we started dealing seriously with the troublesome minority, and allowing maximum freedom for the rest of us.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[SotonS2]

Don said:

And if there are those that do just that...why should the sensible majoriy be punished for the annoying minority?

Well said.

I don't often venture into the 'city' for a night out - I tend to stay local. But when I do, it frustrates me that you have a meal, say at 8:30, and then cannot get a beer or two after 11pm without having to pay £3 to get into a some cr@phole to pay another £3 for a pint of watered down horse urine.

I, for one, wholeheartedly support pubs being allowed to stay open whenever they like. I spend a fair bit of time on the continent and the relaxed laws seem to work there. But then they do not have what is known as 'The English Disease' - drink, fight, drink, chuck, drink some more etc.

Maybe the Government's reluctance to amend the licensing laws is a chicken and egg situation. They won't relax the laws until the lad / laddette culture diminshes, and this won't happen until the laws are relaxed.

Just my 2penneth.

[alfaman]

Personally I think that longer opening hours will be a good thing, the exisitng laws are far too restrictive in the UK.

Sure - the binge drinking loutish behaviour in town centres at weekends is a serious issue - but I don't think its connected to "Opening Hours" per se, much more to do with concentration of drinking establishments and cultural norms amongst some groups of youngsters.

What annoys me is the "media hype" surounding the hours extension - suggesting it'll cause more mayhem in town centres etc. etc. - when the rality is that others factors are the real issue.

[jimmyjimjim]

The media hype on this issue, and comments from the ACPO confuses me - no one ever seems to look at other countries with more relaxed attitudes to drinking; like the US.
Over there, the usual kicking out time is 2a.m., with a lot of places staying open until later - 4 a.m. is also pretty common.
And what happens of an evening - are there lots of pissed up people on the street? No.
Because people don't feel that they need drink quickly in order to get a skinful by 11.30, there is no mad rush for last orders resulting in an entire pub full of tanked up people being thrown out at the same time.
People go out for a night out, and leave whenever they've had enough. Often they sit drinking water and sober up a bit before going home; the time everyone leaves is staggered, and I've never seen a fight ever.
The only reason, IMHO that the drinking culture in England results in such trouble around closing time, is solely the closing time itself - if it is relaxed there may be a few weeks of more trouble as people carry on drinking at their normal pace (and get absolutely wrecked - I've made this mistake in the US, not again!), but after that, friday night trouble will be pretty much a thing of the past.

[MickC]

jimmyjimjim said:

The media hype on this issue, and comments from the ACPO confuses me - no one ever seems to look at other countries with more relaxed attitudes to drinking; like the US.

I'm surprised we havn't seen comparisons with somewhere a little more closer to home, i.e. Scotland. They have had the 'licenced till whenever you like' system for eons, and not having everyone getting kicked out at the same time does have a better effect IMHO. It was sorely missed when I moved back to England after 4 years at uni in Edinburgh.

The question for me is, which pubs are going to take advantage of the later licences? The smaller pub landlord is quite happy the law makes him close at 11 so he can get to bed at a reasonable hour - how many are going to be up for doing another 2 hours work to stay open till 1am? Big chains with employees to pay may also not see any great advantage, depends whether the pundits have more booze money to spend or not.

[echo]

They've been trialing the new laws in my local for several years now. When they call time it's the cue to draw the curtains and carry-on

[Don]

To be honest - I see relaxation of licencing hours being more useful to pubs during daytime opening.

If I was an enterprising pub I'd be considering breakfast shift. People coming in to eat a hearty fried breakfast - and most likely a couple of coffees or teas - but some people might fancy a hair-of-the-dog...

And if you've been up since four doing something having lunch at 10:30am (complete with a pint) might be something you want.