The Tories are planning a “chav tax”
Today Chris Grayling - shadow Home Secretary – revealed that the Tories plan to continue Labour’s slide into social authoritarianism, but with a social twist.
As Tories go, Grayling is certainly not at the libertarian end of the spectrum. As I reported in one of my previous posts, he has pushed proposals to subject young people to arbitrary police justice, with no regard for due process or innocence until proof of guilt. Today he announced a package of measures on alcohol. Most notably, he advaced plans to rapidly increase taxes on particular bevarages: namely alcopops, strong beer and strong cider. The telegraph reports that under his proposals would push up the price of a 4-pack of lager by £1.33 and alcopops by a whopping £1.50.
Not only is this a disgusting use of fiscal policy to punish legitiamte lifestyle choices. It is also blatant class legislation. The singling out of alcopops, strong beer and strong cider has no objective logic to it. It is evidently not simply about targetting the easiest ways to get pissed. Indeed my investigations indicate that a bottle of port and a 4 pack of tennents super contain roughly the same amount of alcohol and can both be bought for around £6.
Indeed there are no prizes for guessing why the latter was not included in the proposed tax hike. By picking out alcopops, and strong beer and cidre, Grayling is tagetting the demons of Middle England, the kind of people who make daily mail readers tut.
Other proposals include higher levies for venues that stay open after 11. The reality is that the vast majority of venues that serve alcohol after our ridiculously early traditional closing time are not associated with any trouble. As I have said before the link between booze consumption and anti-social behaviour is weak and questionable. The vast vast majority of people who get boozed up – the third estate included – do not engage in any criminal behaviour.
There was a moment when I entertained the idea that while the tories will be terrible for britain, and terrible for ordinary people in particular, they might role back some of NewLab’s social authoritarianism. Yet it appears that in spite of the party traditionally containing a libertarian element, we will have no such luck. They remain committed to the smoking ban, too shit scared of new labour’s faux-class politics to oppose the hunting ban (and let’s be clear, stopping the squires shouting ‘tally ho’ IS faux class politics), remain keen to harness the same old paranoia about booze, and even keener on arbitrary justice.
Reader Comments
There is something to be said for discouraging consumption of alcopops, but only for under 18s. Adults can do whatever they want, but I think raising/maintaining the legal age for certain drinks (alcopops, spirits) and lowering it for others (beers, ciders, wines) might possibly encourage more ‘sensible’ (did someone say middle-class??) drinking habits. However this tax seems completely unjustifiable if the Tories want to lift the 50% tax. I can see where they are coming from to an extent, but this just seems like policy hurridly written on the back of a napkin in a conference hotel dining room – it’ll achieve nothing. I thought it was whilst in opposition that you actually have the time to THINK about policy rather than produce it on the fly….
Reuben, agree with you (except for the bit about Tories being rubbish for Britain) – the last thing we should be doing is giving coppers arbitrary powers. Tax hikes are also an awful idea, and your right – they are a class attack. Linked to this post on my blog – as you said exactly what I wanted to.
Now I’m going to post about the idiots voting to strike in the Post Office… doubt we will agree so much on that one.
Regarding strong beer. You mean Special Brew? Yes, there is no real argument for this having its tax increased and yes the proposal you discuss can be safely regarded as class-based, but there have been some reasonable suggestions from some quarters for Tennents et al to be banned. I would probably support this if enough scientific proof can be given that S.B. is proportionately more harmful than, as you say, a bottle of port. Some reports, from a British pressure group against purple tins, have argued that they cause a much quicker physical deterioration, with worse psychological side effects, than other drinks.
Also, you are on dodgy ground regarding ‘the same old paranoia’ about booze. Alcohol is great in my opinion but it’s also fucking fucking dangerous. Leon Trotsky would have ripped you to shreds if you had tried to tell him his government was paranoid about alcohol. And don’t you forget it sonny Jim!
Generally agree with you here, except I feel perhaps a tax on alcopops is right considering that they almost certainly encourage under-age drinking. Strong lagers and ciders are mainly drunk by tramps and let them have their beer I say.
Also I’m not sure why you think that the “link between booze consumption and anti-social behaviour is weak and questionable”, alcohol demonstrably lowers people’s inhibitions which will increase the chances that some will act in an anti-social way. I’ve certainly done things when drunk which could be considered anti-social and would not have done them sober (though nothing major).
The Tories will definitely be terrible for Britain however.
Last year the new Labor government here in Australia passed a similar “alcopop-tax” increasing the duty on mixed drinks by 70%. This was proposed under the guise of a health measure to reduce teen drinking. It did indeed reduce sales of alcopops, but surprise surprise sales of straight spirits and mixers went up. The tax was initially actually voted down by the conservatives as a “tax grab” but eventually they were persuaded to pass it.
‘Let tramps have their beer’ – no intention of starting one of those tedious posting wars where arguments get picked apart, but I do disagree with this. British tramps used to drink industrial fluids. Kids from broken homes still routinely die cos they inhale solvents. This does not mean that glue should be banned, but it is a good sign if debate is on the political agenda.
But there you go, I’m a bit of a pc snot rag sometimes anyway. I used to try to discourage my flatmates at university from getting pissed on K Cider cause I thought it was insensitive towards working class people!