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MacAskill may have to admit defeat

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Published Date: 02 October 2008
TODAY'S vote in the Scottish Parliament will send out a clear message – MSPs are against raising the legal limit for buying alcohol to 21 in shops.
What it will not do, though, is bind the Scottish Government to that approach.

The vote is being tabled by the Scottish Conservatives as one of their opposition day debates. So, although the message will be clear, the long-term outcome will not be.

What happens to the controversial proposal will now be down to Kenny MacAskill, the justice secretary.

Mr MacAskill has shown he is willing to be tough and determined but, in this case, he may have to admit defeat.

He could bring the policy back again in legislation, but he knows he will be defeated again. Mr MacAskill does not like to back down on anything, but this time even he knows it is probably time to ditch this one. There are other areas in this policy where he might be able to get support from other parties, and he will have to concentrate on those.





The full article contains 181 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 01 October 2008 10:18 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
 
1

Guga II,

Rockall 02/10/2008 00:35:12
MacAskill should resign before he does any more damage to the SNP; or wee Eck should give him the boot.
2

A Better Way,

Scottish Republic 02/10/2008 07:00:51
I dont agree that MacAskill has done the wrong thing here. He has merely looked at the results in West Lothian which are being hailed by the Community and the Police Service. It has been a huge success. The problem we really have is Unionist Political Parties using every opportunity to attack the Democraticaly Elected Scottish Government. But not to worry, Scotland will show that lot exactly what they think at the next Scottish Elections.

Serious problems that effect our young folk have to be taken head on. The LibDums/New Labour tumshie heids spent ton of money on this problem and did nothing to actually cure the problem. Lets give it one year and if it fails Kenny can apologise. If it succeeds then the bairns and our Scottish Society gets the benifits.

Its not hard to try something different if the last lot failed again. Aint that Right Wee Jockee, sorry he is in Malawi lording it up with his Black servants getting paid a pittance.
3

Randomly Blocked Poster, ,

02/10/2008 07:38:13
Admit defeat, Naw. Face it yes but admit it, never.
4

W U Merchant,

Aberdeen 02/10/2008 09:17:51
The converts are always the worst. MacAskill admitted defeat years ago.
5

Curious Yellow,

Edinburgh 02/10/2008 09:38:19
I wish...
6

Alternative (High-Octane) Fuel Head,

Edinburgh 02/10/2008 10:42:37
#1:

...and so should Shona Robison.

#2:

The principle of tacking youth drinking problems is to be applauded, however MacAskill has gone about it completely the wrong way. You do not tackle a minority of people who are breaking the law by targetting the majority who are not. That is where MacAskill's plan falls down and it is quite correct that the idea was voted down.

Likewise with this ridiculous proposition about a minimum price for "a unit of alcohol". It once again targets the law-abiding majority rather than the law-breaking minority. With this proposal, it also cuts across EU law as well and even given the outside chance that it would be passed by the parliament, it would be highly unlikely to ever make it to the statute books.

MacAskill just does not think before opening gob and as such he is an embarrassment to Scotland.

One more thought... Ever been mugged on the way home from the shops for the alcohol you have just bought? Ever had your home broken into and your stock of alcohol stolen? No. Probably not. However if they are determined to make it impossible for anyone under 21 to buy alcohol, we can probably expect to see this kind of thing start to happen.

At the end of the day, rigid enforcement does not work. Maybe if they tried letting up on the draconian enforcement a bit and instead concentrated on getting people to behave responsibly, the problem might just lessen and possibly even go away.
7

The Federalist (the poster formerly know as NAUON),

02/10/2008 12:00:02
#7 I totally agree - it should be about changing attitudes towards alcohol - that is the real issue.

It seems crazy to me that an 18 year-old is old enough to vote, get married and pay taxes but is not old enough to decide if they want to drink.
8

Alternative (High-Octane) Fuel Head,

Edinburgh 02/10/2008 15:42:51
#8:

Correct. Changing the attitude towards alcohol is the way to go, however even this must be done with a degree of thought and common sense. Simply demonising it is not the answer.

30 years ago, if you had too much to drink and were sick or did something stupid, you were seen as an idiot who couldn't handle his/her drink. Nowadays you are seen as some sort of role model. Until that stops, we are not going to go anywhere.
9

Itchy,

02/10/2008 22:47:20
#2 I voted SNP but these proposals are cretinous.

They have nothing to do with curbing drinking and everything to do with seizing control of the drinks industry and the supermarkets.

 

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