Booze sale insult

With the Chancellor’s Budget admirably treating people as responsible adults in managing their own retirement finances, maybe our Scottish Government will show us similar respect by abolishing the insulting nonsense of banning stores from selling alcohol for 12 hours in the day.

Most people will use their pension pots sensibly, with very few blowing the lot on luxuries. Similarly, most of us drink sensibly, with only a minority abusing what is in the main a pleasurable social activity.

On the other hand, anyone is perfectly entitled to make the seemingly irrational choice to “overindulge” in either circumstance.

Neither the specific hours nor their total has any logical merit in such an argument; those stupid enough to drink amounts dangerous to health will just do so either outwith the silly 10pm to 10am ban or indeed within it (having purchased supplies by 9:59pm).

I presume the object of the exercise is prevention of over- indulgence.

At all events, a law which inconveniences the majority to control the minority – even if it succeeds in that purpose – is an example of lazy political practice.

Presumably statistics are now available showing the extent of success so far: might we be informed?

Robert Dow

Ormiston Road

Tranent