Freedom to Drink v Freedom from Drunkeness

Written by Vincent Cable MP and published in Richmond Informer on Mon 29th Mar 2004

There is a difficult balance to strike between some peoples' freedom to drink and other peoples' freedom to live undisturbed by drunkenness.

This issue has come to head over the growth in drinking and anti-social behaviour in our town centres. Residents in Twickenham have been experiencing great frustration over problems resulting from large and growing numbers of people coming to the town from neighbouring boroughs for heavy drinking on weekend evenings. Richmond has a comparable problem. I get reports too of late night anti-social behaviour in Whitton, Hampton, Hampton Hill, Hampton Wick and Teddington, much of which is drink related.

Residents have sought my help. I am not a puritan. I enjoy an occasional social drink myself. I recognise that the vast majority of people who go to pubs behave responsibly and drink moderately. But there is a problem of 'binge drinking': those who aim to get drunk encouraged by some bar chains that offer heavily discounted drinks.

There are some practical steps which could alleviate the problem: more police patrols at closing time; more night buses to get drinkers home; radio communication between pubs to identify troublemakers; and greater discipline by both licensees and off licences over sales to young drinkers and those already drunk. I have some hope that a local 'Code of Conduct' might encourage licensees to adopt good practice.

But responsibility primarily lies with the licensing authorities which, under new legislation, will be the council. The new laws make licensing hours more flexible should councils approve of them. They also enable council's powers to scrutinise and approve publicans' plans. There is a real opportunity for local communities to exercise choice over what kind of towns they want to live in.