MP Criticises Council Leader over 'Crass' Approach to Town Centre Drinking

11.50.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 8th Nov 2004

Vincent Cable MP said today that the Council Leader's 'bull in a china shop' approach to discounted drinks in Wetherspoon's chain threatened to undo much of the potential for good of the Twickenham publicans 'code of conduct' and he called on the Council Leader to "define exactly where the Council now stands on future licensing. Can we now take it that the Council plans to use its new licensing powers to block any license extension or additional license in the town centre? Will licenses be conditional on a 'no discounting' policy?"

Vincent Cable, who with Councillor Denise Carr, drafted the Code of Conduct which was taken forward by the local publicans in the Pubwatch group said that "I am very pleased that my initiative has been endorsed by the publicans, the police and the Council and also that - in correspondence with me - Wetherspoon has agreed to participate. As a voluntary code it will need a good cooperative approach by the licensees to operate effectively knowing that, if they do not take it seriously, there is a risk of losing a license. The Council Leader is, at the moment, acting as an unofficial marketing manager for the Sorting Room and other Wetherspoon pubs by advertising their drinks. The only thing which matters to them is whether the Council's bite is as strong as its bark: will it, and can it legally, cancel Wetherspoon's license? The Council should sit down calmly and think about this problem before the code of conduct is brought into disrepute."