Go Lassie Go

Finland, the WHO and alcohol: Solid evidence that price DOES matter

In 2004, Finland lifted the prohibition on people bringing cheap alcohol into the country. The results were disastrous and consumption rose by 10%, along with alcohol related illness.

Labour and the other unionist parties are totally disingenuous when they say minumum pricing is untried and untested. Price does matter, as Finland shows. Yes, it would be better if the money went to the state instead of the supermarket. But the UK government refuse to act. Why, then, do these parties oppose calls to give Scotland control over duty on alcohol and other taxes? Might it be because Scotch whisky alone provides £1.6bn a year to the UK exchequer? 

Kaye Adams was taken aback when Labour's Doctor Richard Simpson, a guest on her show, lamely responded that his only solution to the problem was to bat it back to the UK government - without even trying a Scottish approach. Some people think he was given too much time by the BBC. Personally, I think he was given enough time to hang himself. Listen again to Call Kaye here. Dr Simpson thinks most of the pensioners in the country are addicted to cheap vodka....he must hope Scotland is too inebriated to notice his inconsistency and opportunisim.

Incidently, the SNP proposal did not come out of thin air. It was based on research by the World Health Organisation . The WHO studied policies aimed at reducing alcohol consumption around the world. It concluded that the most effective methods to reduce consumption were 1. Target at risk groups. 2. Control price. 3 Reduce access.

WHO said woolly approaches such as "improve education" were least effective.

The SNP followed WHO advice by addressing the three different points in these ways 1. Ban under 21s from off sales (eg target as risk groups). 2. Set a minimum unit price. 3. Introduce separate tills for alcohol at supermarkets. 

1 and 3 were killed off quickly and 2 was stopped yesterday.

There was a time when the Scottish divisions of London parties included a few folk who sincerely believed they were defending their country inside the UK. They were misguided but genuine. A few devolutionists were motivated by a sense of public service. Now, the plates have shifted. Nobody who watched yesterday's debate could believe those old time, pro-Scotland unionists still exist. The whole debate was an exercise in cynicism.  

See early articles in the Sunday Times and here

 

 

 

 

 

You've heard of Tesco town, what about Tescoshire?

Will supermarkets eventually own the countryside as well as the towns? This was the fear of some  activists at a rural policy fringe meeting I attended at the party's Perth conference. As a prospective candidate for the South of Scotland it's a subject that clearly interests me. It's also difficult to take your journalist's hat off - "Supermarket Scotland" is a good headline...but what lies behind it?

 

There is a real problem attracting new entrants to farming, not just in Scotland. However the agri-industrial complex was not a dominating feature here - something that gave us an advantage in the marketplace, and which sustains our very varied - and culturally rich - rural areas. Farmers have smaller families these days  and often their offspring prefer to pursue different careers. But primary production of food is very capital intensive, so who can afford to buy? Getting credit/mortgages is a problem for all businesses. This report from one of the biggest rural estate agents says neighbouring farmers tend to snap up the land and so you get consolidation. Agricultural land is also seen as a safe investment in difficult times. All this tends to mean that individuals, such as local people  keen to enter farming, have no chance. One Perthshire famer pointed out that Austria, with its small population, supports 190,000 farms, so could we have a cap on farms getting too big? Then there are specific problems such as those faced by dairy farmers who are suffering because supermarkets use milk as a loss leader - you can now buy 2 litres for what you paid for a litre 6 months ago...this needs to be tackled at UK level so we might wait a while...

Supermarkets directly owning the land does not - phew - seem to be happening. But some argue the power of mass retailers over farmers means they are owners in all but title. This vertical integration is evident in both the UK and America, and is outlined in some detail in this article in Corporatewatch

This issue isn't just about farmers, but everyone who lives and works in the country. It's all about keeping young people and families in rural areas - depopulation is a big issue in Southern Scotland for example. There was constructive discussion at the meeting about how smallholders were like crofters without the title - how could they access similar help?  Just finding a place to live is a challenge for people in the countryside, where wages are below the average. There are some innovative organisations building affordable rural housing - often just five or six social rented homes can ensure a community's survival. The Dumfries & Galloway Small Communities Housing Trust was cited as a good example and the Scottish government is keen.  But some local authorities are better than others in encouraging it. There was discussion about renewables and the government's determination to stop The Crown Estate revenues going straight to London - but that deserves a separate blog.

  
Rural Scotland has its problems but there's lots to be optimistic about too, particularly in developing our natural advantages. We hear much about green power in that respect, but traditional land use also presents exciting possibilities.  Richard Lochhead, the rural affairs ministers who spoke at the meeting, has focussed land use back onto food production, which is fortuitous given the world food shortage. He has also just put Scotland's first ever Land Use Strategy out to consultation.  While we might worry about the Tescoshire threat, the good news is more small businesses based on land use are being born. Since 2007, there's been a fresh emphasis on adding value to natural produce - another reason dairy is suffering is that there were traditionally few outlets other than liquid milk. Given that the Scottish landscape is perceived as pristine across the world, there is a lot of scope in developing more food products. It's already well underway. Artisan-style businesses selling everything from tweed bags to whisky laced mustard are sprouting, if you pardon the pun, all over the country. Customers continue to be concerned about the provenance of their food, despite the recession. Sales of Scottish branded food and drink are up by a third since 2007, demand for our salmon and venison outstrips supply and whisky is by far the UK's biggest food export.

Of course independence would help rural  Scotland enormously. Europe will review the Common Agriculture Policy in 2013 and only independent member states have a voice in shaping that.

 

ADD

The ideas raised in the meeting were serious and some will, I'm sure, help shape the manifesto. On the subject of local produce, one of the more light-hearted suggestions will strike a chord with many an ethical-but-weary Scottish shopper. It's all very well having lovely local goodies on display at the Farmers' Market. But why do we have to get drookit looking round the stalls, which are nearly always open air? It's a fair point. Even Glasgow's famous Barras market is mainly indoors these days, so why not produce markets? It's surely enought to know that the beasts had fresh air and lots of water. But it would be nice if we were a bit more comfortable, it might wean some of us off supermarkets too...  

We have seen the future: it involves powdered egg

 If you are one of the many with election ennui, you probably take some comfort knowing it will soon be over. The politicians will no longer hide behind slogans and refuse to reveal exactly how they will reduce the UK’s terrifying £789 billion debt burden. We got a hint of it last week from Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, who confided to an American economist who then blurted to an Australian television presenter: Britain will experience a level of austerity last seen during the second world war. So there you have it, albeit third-hand from the Aussies: we have seen the future and it involves powdered egg.

Except for viewers in Scotland, to adapt a phrase used in those televised leaders’ debates. We will remain in election mode because we have another vote, for Holyrood, next year. The grinding war of attrition will go on — and so will the fudge, evasion and simply not telling it like it is. For the rest of this article go to The Sunday Times here

Alcohol Pricing: England is punished to save Scottish Labour's face.

 

Drink related violence is creating no-go areas in England's towns and cities according to the Independent.  But that has not persuaded Gordon Brown of the merits of minimum pricing, as favoured by his own health minister Andy Burnham, as well as The Royal College of Physicians and just about every other body of medical opinion. Interesting that Burnham, who presumably consulted widely on the issue, was opposed in Cabinet by the Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy and the chancellor Alistair Darling as well as Brown. Now what do these three have in common again?  Ah yes, they all occupy Scottish seats.  The health of their own constituents is a matter for the Scottish Parliament, where the opposition, including Labour, has vowed to block attempts by the SNP government to introduce minimum pricing. If Westminster backed the policy - as its own cross party health committee has already recommended - that would obviously embarrass the Labour Party in Scotland. It would expose Iain Gray's poor judgement and cynicism - two of his own ex-health ministers, Susan Deacon and Malcolm Chisholm publicly backed the SNP proposal. .

I wonder how the English people identified in The Independent as being scared to walk through their neighbourhood because of aggressive drunks feel about this?  A policy that would reduce liver disease, cut violent crime and save the NHS a fortune has been ditched because the SNP thought of it first. It's a sort of West Lothian question in miniature, in this case a whisky minature. The cabinet Scots, hailing from a country which drinks 25% more than the rest of the UK, are determined to poison Britain's not-quite-so-inebriated nations as as well. I'd be outraged if I lived in Tunbridge Wells...

Labour does have one health-related justification for its stance - it is terribly allergic to the nationalists and has been very poorly since May 2007 when it was deprived of what it believed was its divine right to rule Scotland.  Allowing Alex Salmond any kind of positive legacy would be fatal to its chances of securing power at Holyrood again.

For more on the background, read my recent column Iain Gray is harming himself and others

Drink does more harm to babies than Thalidomide says professor

This letter from the emeritus professor of child health at Glasgow University appeared in The Herald today and is worth repeating here. It's an unfashionable topic, but might the increase in children with special educational needs in our schools be linked to the number of young women who drink?
A few years ago, when a doctor in The Borders suggested Fetal Alcohol Syndrome was widely under reported, nobody wanted to know. It is a hugely senstive subject, so not one many politicians are likely to embrace. But I suspect that we will have to face it, even if the drinks companies, as the Prof suggests, work hard to keep it quiet.

Alcohol carries significant risk of damage to unborn children

Who are the “sensible drinkers” that Gordon Brown and opposition parties in the Scottish Parliament “do not wish to penalise by creating a minimum price per unit of alcohol”? Do they include young parents, particularly young women of child-bearing age?

When women drink alcohol in pregnancy there is a significant risk of permanent damage to the developing baby’s organs, including the heart and brain. Infants born damaged by alcohol have the fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). They remain small throughout life, may require major surgery for their heart and other defects, and frequently have poor coordination, learning and behavioural difficulties, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and a range of life-long educational, social and other problems.

Each year in Scotland, there are more children born with FASD than the total number of children with Thalidomide damage ever born in Scotland (“Thalidomide victims to get £20m payout”, The Herald, December 21). There is irony in the fact that Thalidomide was distributed in Scotland by the Distillers Company. Alcohol is a more damaging teratogen than Thalidomide but is still marketed by distillers and brewers without obvious public concern.

Former Deloitte director Tim Wilson says: “We are yet to be persuaded that minimum pricing would actually work as intended” (The Herald, December 22). Having observed the marketing strategies of the drinks industry over the past 30 years, to increase the alcohol intakes of young women, I would rather accept the unbiased opinion of Scotland’s chief medical officer who strongly supports minimum pricing. I would also propose that warnings about the damage to the unborn child should be on the labels of alcohol-containing drinks. This should pose no problem for the drinks industry which is already obliged to print such warnings on alcohol exported to other countries.

The UK Government has entered into a commitment to implement the articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. That declaration states: “The child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including legal protection, before as well as after birth.” The Scottish Government is trying to introduce measures to counteract our problems with alcohol. It is surely time that we, in Scotland, begin to understand and meet our commitments in respect of our problems with alcohol. After all, we are a civilised society and children are our most precious resource.

Forrester Cockburn, Emeritus Professor of Child Health, University of Glasgow.

How big is a brammer? London hacks confused by First Minister's guid Scots

Very interesting the way the London and Scottish media reported Alex Salmond's launch of the SNP Glasgow North East by-election campaign. Sounds like they need to hire those "Glaswegian English" translators we've all been blogging about. See my post here and Yappin Yousaf's here. Salmond  predicted the by-election would be a "brammer"  To me that suggests an enjoyably energetic contest...ending in a landslide for the SNP. But The Telegraph  ignored the guid Scots word, prefering "spectacular". Where's Stanley Baxter when you need him? 

 So....exactly how spectacular is a brammer? How does it translate? 

Scottish Hampers sell a "Brammer Hamper" at £98.99,  compared to The Wee Stoater at £58.99. The Brammer contains "the finest Inverawe Smoked Salmon, Rannochs Smoked Chicken and loads of fantastic Scottish Cheeses and Fine Wines." The real deal, however, is The Big Yin at £999.99. It comes with clootie dumpling, the king of food. Then again, the original Big Yin doesn't support independence, so not a good term to bring into the mix. ....Anyway, talking of brammers, Wardog has a very amusing pictorial post on the by-election which suggests that it will indeed be a spectacular and energetic contest.