COMMENT: The political cost of cheap booze

As I write the Party Conference season is about to commence.  Clearly, for our industry the coming 12-18 months is going to be crucial as we begin to reassemble some kind of order after the hammer blow dealt by the credit crunch. 

I’ve been asked to speak at the Conservative conference at a fringe meeting in which the panel question is:  “Alcohol: who pays?” alongside James Brokenshire MP (shadow Home Office) and ACPO’s Commander Simon O’Brien. Not surprisingly I’m keen that the ultimate answer to this big question is not simply that the alcohol industry should put its hands in its pockets, once again, and stump up for those individuals who behave irresponsibly.  Yet similarly we, as an industry, have to be viewed as crucial partners as we go forward to tackle some of these big issues.

The issue of alcohol related violence and disorder is clearly on Tory minds at the moment.  David Cameron’s recent visit to Hull prompted a much-publicised statement to do something about the issue of cheap booze.  The opposition leader was talking it seems, primarily about loss-leading supermarket alcohol, so that might not be all bad.  However many modern politicians have given the same bold initial commitment to clean up “Booze Britain” – before a senior advisor tells them exactly how powerful and valuable those big four supermarkets really are.  In my minds eye these moments reprise that great comic look on Jim Hacker’s face (open-mouthed, panic in the eyes) when the Sir Humphrey tells him the implications of what he has just done.  The worry is that once again, the supermarkets are seen as too powerful and the much softer target of the on-trade bears the brunt.

David Cameron has made a great deal about wishing to mend “broken Britain”.  Inevitably this will mean (in part at least) having a dialogue with the alcohol industry.  This could be about creating differential taxation around ABV – once the legal position of such a policy has been established.  It could be about imposing even further burdens on our already over-burdened sector.  At the conference and elsewhere I will be arguing very strongly that as we emerge from recession, more should be done to acknowledge that our industry, like many others, has a large part to play in the economic recovery.  We provide jobs and a reason for tourists to visit this country – aside from the much-discussed venue for community cohesion.

As a final thought: on the flipside to all the industry soul-searching that needs to be done, we also need to reappraise and renegotiate how our government operates with us.  The combination of the economic mismanagement of recent times and the shame of the MPs expenses row, means that it is imperative we put pressure on our politicians in future to do better.