SNP and Labour close in on drinks alliance

Published on Thursday 26 March 2009 21:07

A DEAL between the SNP and Labour to come up with a joint plan to tackle Scotland's love affair with alcohol appeared to be close yesterday.

Labour yesterday backed an SNP amendment to defeat a Conservative motion on alcohol, and sources within both camps suggest that agreement can be found if problems over minimum pricing can be resolved.

Labour is known to be split within its group of MSPs on minimum pricing, which is opposed by Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, and the SNP is believed to favour a price of 40p per unit.

There still remain questions over whether minimum pricing is legal under European Union competition laws. However, the two parties got together yesterday in a "conciliatory" debate to defeat a Conservative motion that called for existing measures to be used more vigorously and for SNP proposals, including minimum pricing and selective bans on selling to under-21s, to be dropped.

The alliance was attacked by the Scottish Conservatives, who said that it proved that Holyrood Labour was going against Mr Brown.

Bill Aitken, the Conservatives' justice spokesman, added: "Why should the moderate drinker have to pay more for an occasional bottle of wine or pint of beer as a result of the approach being taken by the SNP and Labour?"

But during the debate, Nicola Sturgeon, the health secretary, welcomed support from Labour on tackling the booze culture that costs Scotland 2.5 billion a year.

"For that approach to be productive, it requires other parties to also be prepared to act," Ms Sturgeon said.

Cathy Jamieson, the Labour health spokeswoman, said the SNP's decision to put alcohol measures into legislation following pressure from the other parties had opened the way for "consensus to be built".