Missing the point
The main problem relates to what happens when drunks spill out of pubs, with shouting, swearing, vomiting and urinating being merely the tip of an iceberg of crime and disorder, but which, in any case, makes late-night city centres such unpleasant and menacing places for ordinary people.
Perhaps if Mr Martin had the misfortune to live beside a pub or club, he might be forced to reassess his characterisation of the on-sales trade as a "controlled environment".
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdWhile it's unusual to see drunks stagger out of or be carried unconscious from off-licences and supermarkets, it's commonplace in the supposedly supervised pub and club sector.
Also, Mr Martin should be aware that a rationale for the Scottish Government's minimum pricing proposal is to make pubs and clubs more attractive vis--vis off-sales outlets, so here, at least, it's not a case of a "mad, stupid" government "trying to ruin pubs".
On the other hand, when councils tried local minimum pricing schemes, elements of the pub trade objected; perhaps Wetherspoons – (in)famous for "99p a pint" promotions – is similarly unenthusiastic.
STUART WINTON
Hilltown
Dundee