ben said:
I can't speak for the rest of the UK - but in London we already have 24 hour transport as well, so that issue would really not be a problem
Are you sure about this Ben? Watford is just outside London (22 miles to the West End), but you try getting a train home in the small hours! Last train from Baker Street to Watford (underground Metropolitan Line) is at 12.15am. And those are similar last train times for most of the underground...
There is a later main line train to Watford from Euston, but that still stops running after about 1.30am.
Yes, there are night buses, but they are a nightmare. One hour waiting times, loads of stops, slow, and they terminate at Harrow on the Hill. Not much good finding I am still 10 miles away from home :bang:
That leaves black cabs and minicabs, which are available in a lot of other cities but cost a fortune...
I'd also add as well that yes, 24 hour licencing DOES work. BUT, it works in countries that have a totally different attitude to drinking when compared with the UK.
Having lived and worked in Europe and the USA where late licencing is the norm in most big cities I've seen first hand that it works fine. However, though alcoholism is present in every corner of the world, the UK seems to have a rather different attitude to drinking. Going by the statistics published by the press, TV news and (I think) the government themselves, the UK has been rated as having the WORST binge drinking problem in Europe.
Over here it seems to be the norm to drink as much as possible, and even 'cool' to get completely plastered. Unfortunately, getting plastered often leads to abusive, rowdy, aggressive behaviour. Not in all cases, but many times I've seen mild mannered everyday citizens go from polite and decent people to nasty aggressive yobs when drinking to excess.
Taking my home town as an example, I can't see the new laws having any effect on the binge drinking culture. One major newspaper did a report on town nightspots, and Watford came up with the glory of being described as "Like Ibiza on acid".
We also had an unprovoked attack on Christmas morning of last year (2004) that left an innocent man dead. The attacker was found to be drunk and disorderly after a night of heavy drinking in the town centre.
There are LOADS of nightclubs and bars in Watford that already have late licences. Every weekend I see my home town degenerate into a rowdy, litter strewn, violent no-mans land. From 11pm to 4am there is a constant flow of people coming past my house making noise, causing vandalism, chucking litter, fighting, puking their guts up and generally making complete fools of themselves. They are coming from establishments that close at 11pm (most pubs), some bars with late licences (12am), more bars and clubs (1am) and a select few big clubs that are open up to 3am.
Ironically the town centre is just over a mile from where I live, yet I will avoid it like the plague. If I go out, I'll go to London instead by car which means I can't drink unless I go as a passenger in a friends car. For me that's not a problem, but it highlights the fact that my home town is so bloody awful at night I'd rather stay sober and drive a 44 mile round trip instead.
Quite how the 24 hour licencing is going to have much effect here escapes me. I suspect that instead of the procession of drunkards starting at midnight, it will simply shift to 2am or later.
On top of that, I feel very sorry for the over stretched police that have to put up with abuse every weekend, and the ambulance service that also have to take abuse and deal with idiots who don't know their limits.
In the long run, 24 hour licencing will work, but only when attitudes change and the UK can banish this stupid binge drinking yob culture. Until then, I suspect nothing will change. The cause as to WHY so many people WANT to binge drink (regardless of closing times) needs to be found and addressed before we can hope to follow examples of workable 24 hour licencing, as shown by our European cousins.
Maybe it's going to take a generation to suffer with alcohol generated liver problems before anyone actually bothers to sit up and take note. Perhaps it's going to take a few more George Bests before the general public realise that necking umpteen pints in one go is not good for their health. Sadly, that's a few years away yet, but maybe only then will the **** hit the fan.
I also agree with someone elses post on here, that if alcohol was just discovered it would be instantly banned, and most likely classed as a class 'B' or even 'A' drug!
But too much in the way of industry and of course government taxes come from this 'drug' alcohol, so it looks like it is here to stay. I just wish more people would drink responsibly and stop making town centres no go areas for other people who just want a pleasant night out.
Chas
