Great Britain, the birthplace of constitutions and the mother of American liberty, has been laid low by socialism, multiculturalism, atheism (even among Church of England clergy), and now... teetotalism.
Of all the "isms" Great Britain is afflicted with, it's the last one that hurts the most. The nation that birthed single malt scotch, perfected the art of gin distilling, and democratized the drinking of honey spirits (mead) must now endure the ministrations of a Labour government hellbent on giving nannies a bad name.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is on a kick to cut costs for the National Health System (NHS). He's already proposed banning smoking outside of pubs and is now going after the drinking habits of British taxpayers by forcing bars to close early "to prevent anti-social behavior." Never mind that there's no more sociable activity than throwing back a pint or two with your mates. The burden on the NHS is too much to allow, ergo, the Labour nannies are going to cut drinking hours.
“These are discussions that we have got to have – even if it’s just about tightening up on some of the hours of operation; particularly where there are concerns that people are drinking too much,” Andrew Gwynne, the U.K.’s public health minister said at a Labour Party conference, according to The Telegraph.
He said the current state of the nation’s health is “morally reprehensible" and that the pressure on the NHS from "excessive drinking" was huge.
Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Reform Party, sees the political opening in the UK heartland where Labour's "Red Wall" has dominated.
“Labour are middle class, middle managers who don’t drink in pubs,” he posted on X. “Their Red Wall supporters will come to Reform.”
Not surprisingly, the Labour Party is pulling up the drawbridge, denying that anyone would have even suggested cutting pub hours.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “It is categorically untrue that the government is considering changing alcohol licensing hours.”
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today program Tuesday, Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden quipped: “We’ve got a day left of the conference and if that’s on the agenda, I’m going to table an emergency resolution myself in order to make sure it doesn’t happen.”
He added: “I think we’ve been clear about that overnight, the pub’s a great part of the British tradition and we’ve got no plans to change the opening hours in that way.”
Mr. Gwynne has been left to twist slowly in the wind. But the idea that Gwynne made that suggestion in a vacuum is not believable. Great Britain is desperate to get a handle on health care costs as its national health insurance program is out of control. It's not unimaginable that at the Labour Conference when Gwynne made that suggestion, the idea hadn't been discussed seriously.
The Telegraph reports that "Prof Sir Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer, has told ministers that if current trends continue, 60 percent of the NHS budget will eventually be spent on diseases that could have been prevented. The current figure is 40 percent."
The crackdown on drinking is under consideration alongside measures to target obesity, including pushing the food industry to reduce the fat, sugar and salt content of everyday foods.
Insisting Labour was “not the fun police” nor “supernanny”, Mr Gwynne said the case for such measures was both moral and economic.
Anyone who says there's a "moral case" against drinking is a nanny. Trying to enforce it makes them the "fun police."
Labour just recently won power from the Tories. They're not going to keep it long if they keep up with such nonsense.
