A law has just been passed allowing UK pubs and clubs to open for longer if they wish - even all day and all night.
For those who don't know the deal, all bars and pubs used to have to stop serving alcohol at 11pm, Monday to Saturday, and 10pm on Sunday. Nightclubs could serve until 1.30 or 2pm. If a landlord wanted an extension over and above the usual drinking hours on any given night, they'd have to go to a magistrates court to apply for the extension well in advance.
A few bars in my neighbourhood have increased their opening hours as a result of the new law - but only by a few hours at the most (e.g. used to shut at 11pm, now shutting at 12am or 1am). I don't know if any local nightclubs have applied to increase their opening hours past 2pm.
The debate currently runs on two sides:
1): Lax licensing laws will mean an increase in alcohol-fuelled violence and an eventual increase in alcohol-related illness;
2): The lax laws will result in a drop in alcohol-related violence/crime, because the bars won't all be shutting at the same time and thus won't be turfing out customers at the same time. Alcohol-related illnesses will eventually drop because customers will no longer be inclined to 'binge drink' in order to have their fill by 11pm (in the instance of a pub).
Incidentally, the old law of having the bars shut at 11pm dates back to the First World War, when the government wanted to ensure that factory workers wouldn't get too hammered the night before and be unable to work toward the war-effort.
Anyone have any views? What're the drinking laws like where you live?
For those who don't know the deal, all bars and pubs used to have to stop serving alcohol at 11pm, Monday to Saturday, and 10pm on Sunday. Nightclubs could serve until 1.30 or 2pm. If a landlord wanted an extension over and above the usual drinking hours on any given night, they'd have to go to a magistrates court to apply for the extension well in advance.
A few bars in my neighbourhood have increased their opening hours as a result of the new law - but only by a few hours at the most (e.g. used to shut at 11pm, now shutting at 12am or 1am). I don't know if any local nightclubs have applied to increase their opening hours past 2pm.
The debate currently runs on two sides:
1): Lax licensing laws will mean an increase in alcohol-fuelled violence and an eventual increase in alcohol-related illness;
2): The lax laws will result in a drop in alcohol-related violence/crime, because the bars won't all be shutting at the same time and thus won't be turfing out customers at the same time. Alcohol-related illnesses will eventually drop because customers will no longer be inclined to 'binge drink' in order to have their fill by 11pm (in the instance of a pub).
Incidentally, the old law of having the bars shut at 11pm dates back to the First World War, when the government wanted to ensure that factory workers wouldn't get too hammered the night before and be unable to work toward the war-effort.
Anyone have any views? What're the drinking laws like where you live?