Whilst I am not wholly opposed to taxation to change public behaviour (though it can on occasion smack of "the poor can't be trusted to make good life choices like the rich can"), the current policies over alcohol taxation are a ill-thought-out shambles.
The beer-duty escalator is a simplistic blunt instrument that's having some devastating (not to mention counterproductive) effects, particularly on our pub industry.
Beer-tax in it's current form hit's the already beleaguered pub trade with full-force, whilst the supermarkets can afford to absorb price increases and massively undercut the pubs. So beer is still available at a cheap price for those who wish to drink irresponsibly, whilst an industry that employs far more people relative to pints sold (not to mention the cultural - and knock-on economic value of pubs) suffers.
What's more, those people likely to want to abuse alcohol will very often abuse stronger-stuff than beer, but under the current rules the tax on spirits is rising at a proportionally slower rate than the tax on beer. How does it help tackle our nation's drink problems to lower the relative cost of a double vodka over a pint of real-ale?
I don't think this, or any of the other problems facing the pub trade at the moment are in the least bit helped by the fact that many of the senior people in both New Labour (who introduced this escalator), and the current government (who've refused to scrap it) are more the wine-drinking posh dinner-party types, than the ale-drinking local pub-going types - many of these folks are only ever seen in a pub when on the election trail. Next time someone tries to tell you that it doesn't matter if cabinet ministers went to the top private schools, remember these little cultural differences between the majority and the privileged (in their little lifestyle bubble) do have real world effects on government priorities and policy.
Anyway, if the petition can get 100,000 signatures, that at least means parliament must debate the matter.
It won't force them to actually do anything about it, and it won't force individual MP's to actually sodding-well bother to turn-up (wouldn't we all like a job like that?
), but at least they will have to have the debate - and they'll know (hopefully) that this matter is an 'issue', and that precious votes may be a stake.So I urge all UKians to sign, and to spread the word to others by whatever means possible, and urge them to sign as well (and to spread the word to yet others e.t.c...) - http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/29664
