Scots are to be forced to pay at least £6 for a bottle of wine after SNP ministers unveiled plans to dramatically increase their minimum alcohol price despite the cost-of-living crisis.
Elena Whitham, the SNP drugs and alcohol policy minister, published a consultation on increasing the minimum unit price (MUP) by 30 per cent, from 50p per unit to 65p.
This would mean a bottle of wine with 12.5 per cent alcohol content could not be sold for less than £6.09, a four-pack of beer in 440ml cans would cost at least £5.72 and a bottle of Scotch whisky a minimum of £18.20.
Ms Whitham said a recent rise in alcohol deaths showed the price needed to increase to 65p. But the consultation admitted that a lower level of 60p per unit would “uprate” the price in line with “the most commonly used measure of inflation”.
Their own policy of minimum unit pricing is killing people. So they’re going to do more of it and harder.
I recall one opponent of devolution insisting it would just mean rule by hte Glasgow Labour Party. I get that point now.
‘A recent rise in alcohol deaths and harm is behind the price increase, the SNP drugs and alcohol policy minister said’
Surely this wouldn’t be because it’s easier to tax since it’s legal, and they’d really love to lay hands on all that gorgeous money?
True Scotsmen should smoke dope instead.
Weed and Freedom gang thegither.
The Glasgow Labour party was sensible and competent compared to this mob. Oh, they thought they were Lord God Almighty, but while Liverpool was suffering the rule of Militant and London had Red Ken, Michael Kelly was running a sort of proto-NewLabour up here, with “Glasgow’s Miles Better” and grants for cleaning up the facades of buildings. Also the red flag flying from the City Chambers, but that didn’t cost anything and kept the nutters happy.
It is a fantastically regressive policy. No one buying craft beer, single malt or Chablis is going to suffer.
Won’t it just lead to loads of cheap offlicences near to the Border and people running contraband in from England??
V_P,
Not until our dozy politicians follow suit. Perhaps now Sunak is showing a bit of bottle it won’t be until Labour gets in next year, but as sure as god made little green apples the public health puritans will push it through here.
Berwick on Tweed has ’em. Maybe also Carlisle for the Glasgow market…..
You don’t think the Glasgow Labour Party isn’t up to its ears in the cheapest high strength lager it can find?
We’ll be continuing to get most of our supplies from mail-order firms based in England. Drink hasn’t addled our brains yet, I dunno what’s doing it to the “brains” of the SNP, who are simultaneously proposing drug-use rooms, because reasons.
“Consultation”, eh?
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ED2mMhwW4AI3XkJ.jpg
I wonder if this will lead to a windfall tax on the Scottish supermarkets to claw back this free money being thrown them.
Scots politicians are probably the ones driving people to drink in the first place.
Who now recalls the argument that devolution would show how well Scotland would be governed once it escaped the heavy hand of London?
The experience of a real, existing Scottish government is perhaps the strongest argument against independence. The second strongest is that the fearty sods don’t want real independence anyway, they want to be supervised by the EU (i.e. Germany and France) and NATO (i.e. the USA). It’s just so bloody unmanly.
“Surely this wouldn’t be because it’s easier to tax since it’s legal, and they’d really love to lay hands on all that gorgeous money?”
I don’t think they get the money. Its not a tax, they just made it illegal to sell alcohol below a certain price. The manufacturers and retailers get the extra revenue.
@Jim – “I don’t think they get the money. Its not a tax,”
Correct, but remember that the VAT paid on the minimum price is a tax, so when the minimum price goes up so does the tax.
It’s not as addictive for government as making the payment be entirely made up of tax, but it is not completely neutral.
” remember that the VAT paid on the minimum price is a tax, so when the minimum price goes up so does the tax.”
True, but the vast majority of the revenue rise goes to the retailers and manufacturers, 80%+. They could achieve the same effect by putting duty rates up (assuming they have the devolved power to do that), and at least the public purse would gain something. This just puts more free money in the pockets of big business.
Just hypothetically, if the money is in the pockets of big business it can then be donated directly to the SNP. If it was taken by increasing duty, that money would be in the Treasury (whatever the jockistan version is called) and a bit harder for the party to extract.
BiW -Sir Kier is already operating that racket with Dale Vincent…
Ms Whitham said a recent rise in alcohol deaths showed the price needed to increase to 65p. (a unit)
The supermarket next door to me sells a litre of quite drinkable wine, available in red, white or rosé, for about a quid. That’s around 12½ units & in Jockland would be north of £8. You can buy a litre of 37.5 proof vodka for under 4 quid in Lidl if you’re in hurry to get pissed. By Jockish logic, the Spanish should be a long extinct race & I should be roaming deserted sun kissed hills.
Isn’t the head of the SNP a mahometan Bis? And aren’t they supposed to be anti-booze.
Could this be at the heart of this nonsense??
BiP: I remember when I was canvassing for the “No” vote, I got talking to a relatively reasonable chap who claimed to be a floating voter, and he more or less challenged me to deny that Scotland was a better place for the “Parliament“. To be fair to the bloke, the disaster was less obvious then and it was tough to get him to see its failings, but today it would be hard not to laugh in his face. Especially since this was in Sauchiehall Street where some of the shops have now lain empty for the better part of a decade (boarded up with “Scottish Government” hoardings telling the proles how they’re “moving forward”).