on the front page...D e n n i s ! Have you been for one of your visits yet?And have you discovered why there is such a problem with "the demon drink", and why something can be "enough to drive me to drink" etc etc.The great thing about places like Crisis at Christmas and Ealing Soup Kitchen and The Upper Room in Wendell Park and Acton Homeless Concern is that there is constructive help available and not just a meal.
Philippa Bond ● 3388d18 Comments
It would certainly be unpopular with me!
Bob Little ● 3378d
I think you mean may be unpopular with them!
Philippa Bond ● 3378d
The introduction of this idea wouldn't make an iota of difference to alcoholics ,but hurt working class people !
Dennis Brogan ● 3378d
For the sake of the farmers I would legislate on loss leading milk. I am losing my libertarian leanings. Any more candidates?
Graham Weeks ● 3379d
Lots of things aren't sold at cost though. Milk is sold by supermarkets as a loss leader which has caused a lot of grief for farmers and the milkman delivering milk door to door.
Philippa Bond ● 3379d
Then you do not need a universal minimum price per unit but making shops stop selling at less than cost.
Graham Weeks ● 3380d
Will somebody please explain if you feed alcoholics , it gives them more money for drink ! Please somebody explain the positives of this as I am mystified??
Dennis Brogan ● 3380d
Why? The idea is that supermarkets etc wouldn't be able to use cheap alcohol as a loss leader.
Philippa Bond ● 3380d
A minimum price for alcohol would be another tax disproportionately disadvantaging the poor.
Dennis - if it is the alcohol that you object to then why not campaign against the fact that it can be sold so very cheaply. Dr Sarah Wollaston an MP was doing this. The industry has a reputation for very strong lobbying of parliament so another voice calling for a minimum price per unit wouldn't go amiss. Excess alcohol causes a lot of damage but it should be no surprise that it is used by people with problems to try and forget or lessen those problems. http://www.cps.org.uk/get-involved/debate/q/ref-6/
Sounding like a civil servant? Not a compliment in my understanding. I was expecting to hear the reaction of poor law or workhouse.
Graham Weeks ● 3384d
Stop complicating things ! If you feed alcoholics free the money they would have to spend on food goes on extra booze ! Simple ! Your text sounds like a civil sservant in a govt . green paper who does not have a clue of real life !
Dennis Brogan ● 3384d
The use of discriminating as a positive adjective has gone. So we have rejected the concept of deserving/undeserving poor and refuse any ethnic/religious profiling at airports. And OFSTED wants to examine church Sunday schools and other youth activities.
Dennis,if you withdraw some of these handouts,you may deprive some one really in need,you can not separate the Wheat from the Chaff,seasons greetings John.
Dr John Stolworthy D.Sc ● 3385d
I don't doubt what you are saying Dennis but suspect that if food handouts were withdrawn it would make little difference to the amount of alcohol purchased and consumed. Limited budget - food vs alcohol - one winner.
Philip Coe ● 3388d
Every day I pass the Emmaus house in Acton to see people swigging from cans for their free meal for homeless people. Almost half carry carrier bags with high strength beer or spirits . They make a choice to spend their money on drink not food ! They do not even hide their alcohol in carrier bags full of booze .What benefit can there be in allowing people with alcohol problems free food apart from increasing their budget for more drink as they don't have to buy food ! I will meet you there any day clutching a 2 litre bottle of vodka and watch them give me a free meal! And this is helping in which way ???
Dennis Brogan ● 3388d
Also there is the Winter Night Shelter. When we see the headlines in the Express about Britain booming as house prices soar, there is a bigger and more important story about a lack of accommodation. As London's economy brought in many people we have seen in recent years people who are working who are homeless. There are people in regular jobs who are homeless. Spending nights at the Airport or in cars is not uncommon. There are also people left behind who are on the streets. It is good that the Soup Kitchen is around as it acts as a point of contact. But also the demand for somewhere to live outstrips supply because of political neglect over many years.
Peter Chadburn ● 3388d