Time for reform? Alcohol policy and cultural change in England since 2000

Abstract

Throughout history, alcohol policy has been tied to ideas of cultural change. In 2000, the New Labour government proposed deregulatory legislation that was designed, in part, to change British drinking cultures. However, implementation of the subsequent 2003 Licensing Act coincided with developments in alcohol retail and drinking behaviours which created widespread public concern. Government alcohol policy was also criticised by public health advocates who rejected the model of cultural change which underpinned it. Focussing on England and Wales, this article considers how an emphasis on culture-change outcomes undermined the political success of New Labour's alcohol policy; how media responses reinforced problematic ideas around British drinking culture; and how public health policy lobbying on alcohol has exposed a marked political divide over the role of legislation in shaping public attitudes and behaviours.

The Alcohol Health Alliance: The emergence of an advocacy coalition to stimulate policy change

“…Calling Time has been identified by a number of its authors as a turning point (Nicholls, 2012). Similarly, within this study interviewees highlighted its importance in shifting understanding for them as individuals but also for the medical profession more broadly:…”

“…Historians and policy analysts have sketched out shifts in contemporary alcohol policy and have described the factors that have influenced the course of policy development and change (Baggott, 2010;Greenaway, 2011;Nicholls, 2012). There is general agreement that the election of New Labour in 1997 marked a significant change in health and social policy and, with it, alcohol policy.…”

“…On the one hand there were groups who adhered more or less strongly to a public health vision which held the view that the alcohol consumption of the population as a whole must be reduced in order to address alcohol-related harm. They emphasized the need for government intervention to be based on the international evidence which pointed towards the use of taxation, price and availability restrictions to reduce alcohol-related harm (Babor, 2010); voluntarism and partnership with the industry were regarded with suspicion and the involvement of industry in alcohol policy formulation or in the production of evidence was regarded as unacceptable (Nicholls, 2012). By contrast, the policy core beliefs of other groups (including industry) and government -as demonstrated through their policiesemphasized harm reduction, targeted intervention aimed at high risk groups rather than the population as a whole, and partnership with industry (Baggott, 2010).…”

The rise and fall of the ‘nudge’ of minimum unit pricing: The continuity of neoliberalism in alcohol policy in England

“…There is some truth in the claim that government alcohol policy reveals a certain hypocrisy (Hobbs et al, 2005) or contradiction (Hackley et al, 2012), and there is, no doubt, as Greenaway (2003) points out, that the reality of alcohol policymaking has been somewhat confused or conflicted. However, as Nicholls (2012) argues, alcohol presents certain 'intractable' problems for policymakers, and so perhaps we should not expect government alcohol policy to be entirely coherent or effective.…”

What is the problem?: Evidence, politics and alcohol policy in England and Wales, 2010–2014

“…In March 2012, the Government's Alcohol Strategy replaced the promise of a ban on below-cost sales with a commitment to introduce a minimum price per unit of alcohol: a measure welcomed by the public health community as it appeared to signal a shift in the policy equilibrium (Nicholls, 2012).…”