A Swift Half

Don't worry, Dave's going to save us all again, this time from binge drinking. Of course, our multi-untalented Prime Minister is well placed to deal with this modern scourge, having been a member of the Bullingdon Club in his student days. One assumes he must have done his share of binge drinking back then, as it was effectively the Bullingdon Club's raison d'etre, along with murdering prostitutes and wrecking restaurants (allegedly). Mind you, it probably doesn't count as 'binge drinking' if it takes place in upmarket wine bars and restaurants and the alcohol being imbibed is in the form of fine wine or champagne. Binge drinking is another of those things that only the lower classes do, involving pints of lager, shots of cheap spirits and the like, and takes place in shabby pubs or garish clubs with blaring music, and results in violence and destruction of property. Posh people getting drunk and trashing restaurants is merely 'high spirits'.

Which is why Dave's only remedy seems to be that hoary old stand-by of imposing a minimum alcohol price on supermarkets, in order to restrict sales of cheap booze to the masses. In other words, make it unaffordable for the proles - you can only get completely wrecked if you've got money, in other words. Which is all very well if you believe that the availability of affordable alcohol is what fuels so called binge drinking. In reality, drinking cultures are a function of the society they exist in. The fact is that in the UK we've developed a drinking culture in which alcohol consumption is all too often seen as an index of 'macho-ness' for men, in which it becomes tied up with aggressive behaviour and loudness. More recently, this same culture has been adopted by many female drinker - so called 'ladettes'. Make no mistake - alcohol doesn't make people violent, it is merely used as an excuse for behaviour that would ordinarily be considered anti-social and, to be honest, most so called binge drinker aren't violent. They may be loud and sometimes obnoxious, but generally speaking they are merely enjoying themselves. It might not be my idea of enjoyment, but it is actually pretty harmless.

But can we blame these young people, (because according to the media and politicians, binge drinkers are always young), for wanting to get blind drunk on a regular basis, bearing in mind their uncertain employment prospects these days? Even those in work are likely to be doing soul-destroying minimum wage drudgery in call centres and the like, where no initiative, free thinking or job satisfaction is allowed - deviation from a rigidly set job card will result in instant dismissal. Being 'helpful' to customers is seen as time-wasting. Add to that the constant erosion of their civil liberties and social services, and alcoholic oblivion suddenly seems a tempting option. If Dave is serious about doing something to combat binge drinking, then these are the issues he needs to address. But will he? Of course not. He and his party represent the very vested economic interests which have created and benefit from this culture. Oh, and let's not forget the amount of tax revenue alcohol sales generates for the exchequer. A bit of a conflict of interest there, eh?