So, British nanny-state strikes again...

[Neil]

So, given the problem of some people drinking too much and becoming a public nuisance (yobs), do you:- a) Try and instill some level of education and social ettiquette and morality at a young level. b) Hit those people who are caught being a nuisance with serious fines. ie: Not £20, but £200. c) Add tax to some drinks. Well, some politicians think adding yet more tax to the British public is the way to go... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7282308.stm So, when I want to buy a nice pack of refreshing Bacardi Breezers to drink in summer, I will now have to pay something like an extra £2 on a pack (of four). And this will somehow add braincells and civilised behaviour into a chavs head how exactly? So rather than buying 8 bottles of something. If it gets more expensive they will just spend more, or buy 7. For goodness sake! So more tax gets taken from us for no good reason and the majority suffer because of the ill-behaved minority...

[Tricky]

I cant see it working either,scrotes will just mug more money out of people for it,and a 50p increase still isnt going to break the bank,even for the lowliest chav!yet again punishing the law abiding for the sake of scum,bit like the ridiculous amount of speed cameras everywhere & jacked up fuel prices....

[MinionZombie]

Fines and education for the problem children. Just taxing stuff is stupid. Although I do find it absolutely hilarious/offensive that Labour said the Conservative idea for such a tax was unworkable ... I'd have thought Labour would have loved that, what with their footloose & fancy free tax increases and congestion charging and stupid ideas like that black box in your car idea...sheesh. But just taxing something isn't understanding the problem. If you don't 'get' the problem, you won't solve it. I should go to London and waggle my common sense truncheon in their faces...*rolls up sleeves* ... The Conservatives say wines, spirits and 90% of beer and cider - including popular brands like Carling, John Smiths, Guinness, Stella Artois, Strongbow and Magners - would not be affected. At least there's some distinction between drinks, but it's still silly because people will either: A) continue as normal B) switch to unaffected drinks Although Stella being unaffected just makes me laugh - here in the UK we call it "wife beater" ... and Carling is all about football ... Interesting that booze hasn't been going up with inflation...I say it's a conspiracy by the gubment to keep the populace drunk & stupid so they can be dastardly in the open, no shadow-lurking necessary. ... Of course, all this being said, it's still an idea at most so far ... who knows what will happen in the future.

[CornishCorpse]

That sucks some balls and yeah the price of everything but booze rising I would have said MZ hit it on the nose. I "If everyones pissed up whats the big deal with the goverment? They do the best they can. Forgive forget..Sit down and have a pint. This ones on me" First of all the fact that the goverment are going over plans to install cameras in pubs and clubs so they can highglight the binge drinkers and essentially ban them from the club so they cant binge. Theory sounds not half bad but the point is yet more cameras to cover watch us all. The ID cards are in! Whoopity doo! Finally I can get my own person monitoring chip. I think at the minute its only for people wanting to come to the UK to live? Correct me if I am wrong. But this scheme just means another rise in taxes? Fun fun.

[MinionZombie]

Cornish - the ID card thing. I duno whether it's properly in yet or not, it's got massive opposition from both the Tories and the Liberals, and rightly so. Initially it's for folk who work in airports (like runway staff) for 'security' - well, clearly the existing security is working just fine, there haven't been any terrorist runway staff crawling out of the woodwork. Next up, or maybe first, it's foreigners coming in. Well, if you're not going to stem the flow and control it properly, why bother with cards? It's just an added expense to the same amount of people coming in. Then they want to nab students and young people through student loans to make it 'easier to get a loan' - excuse me, but it was PISS EASY to get a student loan. They're practically giving them away with free hookers for crying out loud! The point is - it's stealth infiltration of this horrid ID card idea. They'll chip away at different groups, then say "oh most people have them now anyway (because we forced them to) so let's make it nationwide" and then everybody's forced into it. However, I think the timescale for nationwide ID cards is after the next election - so for f*ck's sake - KICK LABOUR OUT SO WE CAN RID OURSELVES OF THESE F*CKING USELESS CARDS!!!

[Publius]

So, when I want to buy a nice pack of refreshing Bacardi Breezers to drink in summer, I will now have to pay something like an extra £2 on a pack (of four). The Conservatives say wines, spirits and 90% of beer and cider - including popular brands like Carling, John Smiths, Guinness, Stella Artois, Strongbow and Magners - would not be affected. See, now, this tax isn't as silly as y'all thought. It IS serving a purpose, because it will dissuade Neil from buying girly drinks, and encourage him to swig a nice manly Guinness or Strongbow instead! Just kidding, I like Bacardi Breezers too.

[MinionZombie]

Breezers are almost like drinking a coke or fanta. You can't taste the booze in them at all and can just chug them down in seconds - which is part of the binge culture. Although I'm not sure, but I think I heard something about tax law where you aren't allowed technically, to pick & choose. Like, if you're taxing booze, you're taxing all booze, not just alco-pops or whatever. But I do think there is a certain problem, all these alco-pops are essentially fizzy drinks, but with booze in them. Before they came along, people would have to acquire the taste of real alcohol - like beers and wines or cider - but with a Bacardi, it's like drinking a Fanta that gets you trolleyed, so younger and younger people are getting pished on them...heck, it's how I got started drinking...but I only started at 16 once I'd entered the Sixth Form and was bothering to attend house parties. Then at Uni I knuckled down and acquried the taste of beer and lager, proper alcohol, none of that mickey-mouse alco-pop stuff. ... I do remember going to see a gig at Uni once, can't remember which it was, possibly CKY (where some nob'ed got a mic stand over the noggin' for arrogantly booing America well played, Chad, well played ) ... anyway, there were two teenage lads there, they couldn't have been more than 14 at the oldest and they had one bottle of Breezer between them and they were lolling around like they were king sh*t cos they had booze ... meanwhile they were stood amidst uni students - the patriots of imbibing - but man alive were these two kids nob'eds. They were either pretending to be pished, or were actually honestly pished on one or two Breezers...geeeeez...what losers.

[bassman]

People actually drink those things? I thought they were just shelf decoration in stores...