Pubs - 24 Hours - UK!

[smudge]

Personally, I disagree, but what is your opinion?

[undercovers]

i think will be a good idea in the long run - we have been so conditioned to speed through our drinks before the unsociablely early hour of 11 that suddenly given the option to get some hard core alcohol abuse done in the confort of your local will drive us briefly mad... HOWEVER - in the long run i think it will bring about a more mature relationship with alcohol, it will reduce the "friday night fight" problems that exist in some towns when the pubs all kick out, transport will be less congested at 11.30pm, family life will improve as people are not forced to rush out early if the fancy get a few drinks in the evening, a&e will not have the sudden 12 o'clock rush to hospital after sandwich making accidents and the like - so as you can see this is a well over due change to our outdated and patronising alcohol law...

[LeMarchand]

I can see the arguments for 24 hour opening, but feel that those who support it have much more faith in the general public than I.

 

I feel that it will be hell in the short term, as people spend as much time drinking as possible, and will lead to long term alcohol abuse problems, and certainly won't improve the family life of those in the licensed trade.

[El D]

yes - we are not children. its part of changing the perception of alcohol and I welcome it. We can vote, get married, have 20 kids that leech of the state, but we cant buy a drink after 11? gimme a break. its a relic from WW1 ( or 2?) and imo is one of the reasons we have such a bad alcohol problem. look at europe.

[Pootle]

I'm in favour of pubs staying open longer as it means I won't be forced to stand in a queue for an hour and then pay 10 quid to get into some cheesy club just so I can carry on drinking after 11 o�clock.

We are, however, hardly a nation of moderate drinkers. Is a 24 hour license really the answer to binge drinking and its associated problems. This will be like a red rag for many people. I think the pubs and bars bear a lot of the responsibility. How many times do you see people staggering up to the bar (myself included) when they have clearly had too much to drink, ordering drinks, barely able to speak and the barmen continue to serve them. Its not a great surprise when they fall into the streets that problems begin. Maybe some training is required for barstaff to say no to those who are wasted as most town centre bars now have doormen to deal with any confrontation

[rinkytink]

 

Well......I think we will all become violent alcoholics - just like the experts all predicted when we moved from 11 - 3 / 6 - 11 opening hours to 11 - 11 open hours....oh wait a minute that never actually happened did it ??

 

Yes there will be some initial problems but these will settle down. Maybe a staggered approch is required - opening first untill 1am then maybe 2am ect.

I also agree with Pootle - the govt. should bring in a national bar certificate that all staff should undertake before being able to serve alcohol.

[LeMarchand]

Re a "bar certificate" many bar staff are unskilled workers on minimum wage. To train them for a certificate would cost money, and they would rightly expect higher wages. Do all you people who can't cope without drinking after 11pm want to pay more for your drink to offset this?

 

As for refusing service, it's easier said than done. People can get very nasty when this happens. (One of our locals was wrecked when someone who had been refused service came back the next day in his car and drove it into the pub and then drove it around inside the building). Drunk people rarely acknowledge that they have had enough.

 

Also, why do the "pro" brigade feel the urge to guzzle 24/7? Anyway, when the pubs are shut there's a place where you can drink as much as you want, pay less for the booze, and have the music, smoking and door policy the way you want - it's called home.

[andy hughes]

The people who have to deal with the issues of drunken behaviour - police, hospitals, doctors, and so on, are against this move. The Government's theory is that the British will somehow mutate into a European cafe society, a dream which is facile in the extreme. Europeans educate their children from an early age that a glass of wine with a leisurely meal is a pleasant way to enjoy alcohol. This is a world away from the British, who drink to get drunk, and will simply do so for longer if the hours are extended. The problems caused by a mass turnout of clubs and late-licence pubs at 2.00 a.m. will simply spread to any hour of the day or night - and the results will mean anarchy. It's not difficult to see this - unless you are a Government Minister.

[jimmer]

well i for one will be very pleased. I've lost count of the times i have left the cinema at 10.55 just missing last orders on the way home. i hav'n't heard a decent argument how it would cause more alcohol abuse or drink related trouble although i can understand the concern. idiots are idiots and will continue to behave as such regardless of pub opening times. why should the rest of us suffer?

jim

[FP]

I think it's about time this happened.  I entirely agree with ElD.  We British have a totally ridiculous attitude towards alchohol.  On the Continent children drink from a very early age WITH THEIR FAMILIES and learn to drink moderately and sensibly.  I love the idea of coffee, tea and alchohol being served side by side.  Yes, intially there will be those that go mad and go on almighty drinking sessions, but it the long term things should improve.

[El D]

andy - I find your doom laden prophecy of anarchy from opening pubs another 12 hours amusing. Besides which - as already pointed out drink is available at home for much less - so if people want to get drunk and roam the streets they are going to anyway. I am constantly amazed by the British inability to focus on anything which deals with causes and not symptoms.

[Elfin]

I don't like the idea of it at all, but then again I don't drink and would be happier if nobody else did either.  I think it should be classified as a Class A drug meself - I can't see the difference (...waits for barrage of abuse). The alcohol problem in this country is massive and hugely destructive and expensive. And frankly, it's totally shameful. The amount of public money spent on policing, paramedics, NHS, family counsellors etc as a direct result of the booze is astounding, let alone for clearing up the damage.  You only have to watch that BBC series which clearly shows that the night shift police/paramedics in Boozeville town centre spend all night wasting their time and breath on these responsibility-dodging deviants, when they should be allowed to immediately bludgeon them into silence and chuck 'em all into the back of a waiting dustbin lorry...

Anyway, much of this alcohol boom is amongst young teenagers (11-17), for whom extending the availability hours in licensed establishments would have little impact till they get older. 

Personally, I like the "downtime" from 2am till lunchtime - there is a certain comfort in knowing that things are pretty much quiet outside and that anyone wandering about at 4 in the morning is probably either a burglar or someone returning from shiftwork.

[Greedyfly]

I disagree too - but I don't drink so maybe im biased

[Robinia]

Pubs open 24 hours Smudge - per week - fantastic (& only during the daytime)!!

I think that about sums up my feelings on this. I agree with Elfin, the drunks should be rounded up, put in a room to puke all over each other, hosed down & sent home cold, wet & sober! 

I've never met anyone in my 50 years who's better for having had 'a few'.

Elfin we'll share the abuse!

[smudge]

Thank you for all your replies on this controversial issue.

 

Well I've read all the for's, but I'm still against! It may be because I'm not a great drinker & I've seen & read what alcohol abuse causes to people's livers & relationships. It would take many, many years to educate 'some' people to drink moderately. Look at how long it's taken to do the same with smoking & lung cancer is still one of the biggest killers. I rest my case!  

[El D]

well for me its about personal freedoms. As I said, the government thinks I am capable of a number of things, but controlling my alcohol consumption is not one of them. Its ridiculous - its a legal drug, I should be able to buy, when, where, however I want it, and not have my habits dictated by outdated, tyrannical emergency laws that noone has got around to fixing.

[Shire]

I don't see why 24-hour opening would be such a problem myself.  I went to Las Vegas last year, where many places serve alcohol 24/7, and not once did I see someone drunk, incapable, fighting, lying in the road etc etc.  My husband and I enjoyed the idea that we could go for a meal and then go on to have a few drinks afterwards, without having to think about the time, or paying to go into a club just to finish drinking. Back in the UK, we both work until about 7pm every weeknight and on a Friday evening it is a rush to finish work and get changed and get out so that we have time to meet our friends and have a few drinks  before 11pm.  Yes our whole group of friends would count as binge drinkers, as we like to go out and have 5-6 pints in an evening, but we never get in fights, get arrested or cause damage to other people's property, and all hold down resposible jobs, so are we really so bad for enjoying a drink and wanting to have a few more.  By all means crack down on those who do go out and cause trouble, but those people will cause trouble no matter what time the pubs shut.

It would be interesting to see a figure for how many people, out of all those who go out drinking on any given night of the week, actually get into fights, get arrested etc, compared to the number who just go out and get drunk and have a good time!

[smudge]

We went to Las Vegas a few years back too & didn't see anyone drunk or disorderly. Bearing in mind it is a tourist place, there were lots of security people around, which was a good deterrent. Maybe that's the answer for our pubs & streets!

[Lindy Loo]

Having read all the posts in reply to the question, there is one topic that hasn't come up... the staff of the pub's etc!!

My son works in a local hostelry and with the current opening hours, he rarely gets home before 1.30am having cleared up and got everything ready for the next days opening. Having worked Christmas and New Year's Eve, he eventually got home at around 4am just because of the clearing up. 

Obviously he was not the only one in that position, but come on folks, have a heart for the workers.

[FP]

Well, the pubs will have to employ extra staff and work out proper shift rotas Lindy.  I don't suppose they would expect the same staff to work for 24 hrs.  And some people being night birds might welcome the night shifts!

[smudge]

We live near a town & at 2:00am - 2:15am & 2:30am this morning, we were woken up by drunken mouthy inconsiderate hooligans, passing by, after turning out of the local pub (presumably after a lock in). They were intent on waking up the whole street, whilst one of the sensible ones - went ssshhhh - as though it would make any difference.

 

If 24 hour opening does come into play, can we expect to be woken up on & off throughout the night, then have to get up for work early the next morning. Does that make it ok? We don't wish to move from the home we love - so why should we & all the other neighbours have to, just to satisfy selfish inconsiderate boozers.