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Julian Fucking Le Grand, bansturbator in chief:
Supermarkets should be banned from selling alcohol to combat Britain’s binge-drinking culture, says a health adviser to the Government.
Professor Julian le Grand, the chairman of Health England, said customers should be made to make a conscious decision to buy drink by going into a different shop instead of being “lured” into buying alcohol during their weekly grocery shop.
He said alcohol had become “like adult candy”, with customers seduced into buying cut-price drink on their way around the supermarket in the same way that sweets used to be placed near tills.
Prof le Grand said: “I am in favour of separate alcohol outlets. Certain states in the United States and certain provinces in Canada have separate stores. I would probably ban supermarkets from selling alcohol altogether.”
And I am in favour of stringing up from the nearest lamp post, nasty little control freaks who think other peoples’ drinking habits are any of their business. Does this evil little shit ever shut the fuck up? We are adults; not children and I resent shit-for-brains control freaks like Le Grand presuming to patronise me in this manner. Le Grand is unelected, let’s remember; he has no right to dictate our lives and we would be foolish to let him.
H/T Mr E
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Isn’t Le Grand the moron who wants to issue ‘smoking permits’?
I particularly liked this:
‘Prof le Grand said: “I am in favour of separate alcohol outlets. Certain states in the United States and certain provinces in Canada have separate stores….’
As a resident Yankee, I’d just like to point out that, indeed, some counties, and a couple of states, do indeed regulate alcohol sales. The states who do so generally do in fact sell alcohol via government-owned stores. The counties which are ‘dry’ generally don’t sell alcohol at all.
What Le Grand illustrates, by omission, is the ingenuity of the US federal system. In contrast to the ever-centralizing British government, states are free to set local policies such as these (as are counties). Moreover, state and local politicians are far more accountable to their constituents than is the case here: if the locals don’t like ‘no/regulated alcohol’ policies, they can toss out those who’ve enacted them, and elect those who will abolish such statutes.
In other words, such regulation exists only in areas where the locals actually want it, generally for religious reasons (which will probably set those who don’t understand the concept of religious liberty in a flap), or for reasons of prudence or morality. Regardless, there’s no prohibition on alcohol consumption, and the citizen always has the option of schlepping over to the next country, or across the state line, to happily purchase as much brew as he likes. And, as I mentioned before, if enough locals want ‘alcohol’ for sale in their locality, they have politicians who are responsive enough to comply.
Le Grand has just managed to make the perfect argument for localized government. I’m quite sure he didn’t intend to do so, however.
Eric, yes, indeed, it is the very same Julian Le Grand. And I doubt very much that localised (and accountable) government is what he had in mind.
Before coming to the UK, I never really knew what your term ‘stitch-up’ truly meant. I’d hear people using it, mainly in reference to some government policy, initiative or deal, and I’d think ‘surely this is a one-time thing? Surely no government is so manipulative, so corrupt, that it would simply propagandize its way into doing whatever it wanted, regardless of public wishes?’
Silly me. The latest stitch-up–or ‘artificial crisis’, as I’d call it–is apparently the ‘alcohol sales problem’.
First Le Grand made his pronouncement; now–most amazingly–the BBC (no, really!) carries a piece which claims that Tesco backs higher alcohol prices (gosh, wonder why?). Moreoever, the British Medical Association has a report–no, really, they do–which says there’s an ‘alcohol epidemic’. There’s even a report from the ‘Alcohol Health Alliance’. Gotta wonder whether this group receives any funds from the EU or UK governments. The article states that
What’s so damn funny is that the idiots at the BBC claim:
“Alcohol consumption has been rising steadily for the past 15 years…”
While a graph at the bottom of the piece titled ‘Trend since 1997’ shows male consumption holding rock steady, and female declining. This is a classic example of misdirection: with a growing population, OF COURSE consumption will grow–but the average number of units consumed per person has remained steady, or declined.
I’m sure this is all coincidental, but then, I still believe in the Tooth Fairy:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7254933.stm
Is there ANY honesty in the UK’s national government anymore? Anywhere? Or do they simply lie, and lie, and lie?
They simply lie and lie and lie.
A few politicians dangling in gibbets might concentrate their minds somewhat.
What really, really pisses me off is that Le Grand is a policy wonk and is neither elected nor accountable to those who are affected by any polices that may be enacted following his advice.
Oh, and let’s not forget that those recommended maximum units of consumption were plucked out of their arseholes and have no scientific basis whatsoever.
Eric
You’ll have also noticed as you listened to the BBC (whose remit BTW demands “impartiality”) that not one person was interviewed who had a view opposing the prevalent “it’s cheap alcohol leading our poor misguided youth to an alcoholic hell” bien pensant agenda. The only mildly critical remark was Ed Stourton on Today asking of the world in general (but not the representative from Tesco) why Tesco couldn’t go it alone. Of course they could but they’d lose customers and maybe some money. However, if ALL the supermarkets increase the price of alcohol I guess that, the demand for alcohol being relatively inelastic, ALL the supermarkets would increase profits – not something you’ll hear on the BBC: not necessarily biased journalism but certainly the crap journalism we now expect from our national broadcaster.
“Health England”. Superquango. Government paying people to lobby itself.
http://www.healthengland.org/health_england_membership.htm
F*** them. In fact, kill them.
Mark Wadsworth’s last blog post..“Child obesity a major problem”
Umbongo: I haven’t watched the BBC today, but your report doesn’t surprise me one jot. The BBC is thoroughly biased in favour of statism, and it is seldom that a libertarian voice is provided when such issues as this are discussed.
There’s the Biased BBC blog, but I can only give it a half-hearted recommendation because unfortunately they’re much more interested in religion and moralism than in picking up pro-state-interventionism bias.
Ian
I’d rest your sphincter on this one. Banning the supermarkets from selling alcohol would seriously annoy Labour’s business sponsors. And that is one constituency that the Labour party will do all in its power never to disappoint. There will be extra tax on alcohol but the chance that Sainsbury’s might be prevented from selling alcohol is zero.
What winds me up is not so much that his proposed policies might – or might not – happen, but that he believes that he is the person to decide how we should live our lives. It’s the sheer hubris of the man that causes me apoplexy.