Although they gave a polite response, saying that the proposal by Professor Sir Liam Donaldson, the chief medical officer, would be studied, the word in Whitehall was that it would not happen.
Even though the health select committee is expected to consider the idea, all the signs are that ministers have no appetite for such an unpopular move, less than a year before a general election.
Gordon Brown was said this morning to be very cool on the proposal, and his work and pensions secretary later went even further, claiming that the Government would not punish the responsible majority of drinkers.
James Purnell:
“We want to focus on the irresponsible minority rather than I think punishing everyone equally,” he (Purnell) told BBC1’s The Politics Show.
Abandoned my arse, they will sneek it in through teh back door; note the typical righteous tactics, blag some "science", set an abitary standard ( was 40p, upped to 50 so they can later claim to 'compromise' ), demonise a user group ( binge drinkers ); next thing you know it will be a done deal but who cares because >>
ReplyDeleteIt's just another tax on the poor.
When did you last buy a bottle of Vladamir Value Vodka £9.99 or a case of pissy supermarket lager ?
Yeh, the same thought occurred to me, but this follows hard on the heels of the chocolate tax defeat by the BMA.
ReplyDeleteI tried value lager once, I switched to water almost immediately, as it achieved the same effect and tasted better!