Tuesday 1 March 2011
Every Little Helps
It is very high time to make the supermarkets fund investment in agriculture and small business, determined in close consultation with the National Farmers’ Union and the Federation of Small Businesses, by means of a windfall tax, to be followed if necessary by a permanently higher flat rate of corporation tax. In either case, there must be strict regulation to ensure that the costs of this are not passed on to suppliers, workers, consumers, communities or the environment.
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On a similar theme, I have said for years that supermarkets should not be allowed to sell alcohol. They stock their shelves with alcohol at loss-leader prices (particularly the cases of beer/lager) and the local pubs simply cannot compete. Between them, the supermarkets and the breweries are killing the local pub trade which is dying rapidly. Like the post offices, many pubs are hubs of the community, a social benefit, especially in country areas. Stop the supermarkets selling all alcohol and transfer the business to the licensed premises of pubs where greater control can be exercised. Let the pubs stack up their premises with cartons of beers, with an off-licence window for example, and this would help to rejuvenate the trade, especially in rural areas, and restore some much-needed regulation. If a pub landlord is found guilty of transgressing the law he/she could lose their business. If a supermarket is prosecuted they simply change the manager of the drink department, appoint someone else, and carry on regardless.
ReplyDeleteJust as the French license their Tabac shops, so should we license only the pubs to sell alcohol. It might not exactly stop the closure of local and rural pubs but it would save a hell of a lot from going under. We always hear politicians and the medical profession going on about the problems caused by alcohol; this would go some way towards restoring a reasonable control.