Andrew Whitaker: SNP's failure to push through its alcohol pricing plans reveals how toothless party has become

Published on Friday 3 September 2010 13:27

THE SNP has finally come clean about what level the minimum price for alcohol will be set at.

However, what is now one of the party's last flagship policies in the final year of its four year term in government stands a good chance of being blocked by opposition MSPs.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon compared the minimum pricing policy at yesterday's launch to that of the smoking ban introduced by the last Labour administration at Holyrood.

But Labour seems hellbent on denying Ms Sturgeon her smoking ban moment and has insisted that it still opposes setting a minimum price per unit of alcohol.

Labour's stance comes despite the party saying that it favoured a UK-wide ban on drink sales below the total cost of production, duty and VAT.

A failure to accept Ms Sturgeon's offer of a "sunset clause" - which would allow a test of minimum prices to see if the measure reduces excessive drinking - suggests that Labour's opposition is at least partly based on political expediency.

The proposal from Labour's alcohol commission earlier this week that not serving alcohol at government functions would help tackle Scotland's problem with alcohol abuse suggests that the party has no clear ideas on this critical issue.

The Tories, who along with Labour voted down minimum pricing at its last parliamentary stage, have also come out for a UK-wide floor price solution and seem to be as determined as ever to sink the SNP's plans.

However, given the UK coalition government's noises about dealing with alcohol sales below cost price, it's hardly surprising that the Tories and Lib Dems at Holyrood have not come out in favour of minimum pricing.

The Lib Dems, despite abstaining the last time minimum pricing was debated at Holyrood, have described Ms Sturgeon's approach as a "narrow view" on the issue of tackling alcohol abuse.

All of which leaves the SNP facing defeat on the issue when the minimum pricing issue returns to Holyrood.

The defeat would see yet another cherished SNP manifesto pledge blocked, following on the heels of the party's decision not to push ahead with its plans to abolish the council tax due to Labour, Tory and Lib Dem opposition.

With the SNP's referendum plans also unlikely to get through Holyrood, a defeat for minimum pricing could see the nationalists turned into a lame duck administration limping during their final months in power.

Given the possible consequences for Alex Salmond's party, it is perhaps unsurprising that the opposition parties have not been falling over themselves to rescue Ms Sturgeon's minimum pricing plans.

Whether Ms Sturgeon will be able to strike a deal with one of the parties now seems unlikely given that the Health Secretary herself has a fairly entrenched position, placing minimum pricing at the heart of the government's measures to tackle alcohol abuse.

How the issue will play during next year's election is also difficult to say - although the SNP will almost certainly claim that its plans to tackle Scotland's relationship with the bottle were dumped due to its opponents political opportunism.