U-turn on the loss of the tax revenue you mean! Get one of your investigative journalists to start lobbying the release of figures for tax revenue from alcohol consumption since the introduction of 24-hour drinking and let's see where the truth lies.
Of course, since it is illegal to sell alcohol to someone who is already drunk, that means that the exchequer could arguably be funding social security payments from alcohol tax, which means that all benefits recipients are living on immoral earnings. Any lawyers out there fancy tackling that one? You can be sure that our MP's won't.

KR, Stockport,

Having lived in Germany with it'sdistinct beer culture a major difference becomes immediately clear. Beer is ordered & served individually by table service - each individual ordering & paying for what they personally consume. In the U.K. from day 1 as an 18 year old we go to the bar & buy in rounds. This by definition creates an environment of keeping up with the fastest drinker & ensuring that each individaul buys a round for "fairness" sake. The result is in most cases drinking quicker & greater volume in the UK on a given night, to a gentler at your own pace evening in Germany.

John Golding, Woking, U.K.

It's our culture, not the law that's the problem.

We work some of the longest hours in Europe, we're constantly told that this, that or the other will kill us, we have an incompetent government that meddles in just about every aspect of our lives, 'our' youth is feral and can barely speak properly and, er, the football team is rubbish. Is it any wonder we want a drink?

Look at the 3 monsterous beasts in the picture at the head of the article! You'd need a good 10 pints to even contemplate it fella's......

Jonny, London, UK

The government haven't done anything right since they came into power, you cannot raise the age of drinking alcohol to 21 when the age for voting is now 18 and the government are contemplating lowering the age to 16. The age when sex is now legal,at 16 despite the fact that most of todays new mothers are under the age of 16. Common Sense had died a death

christine marshall , Cambridge, Cambridgeshire UK

24 hour drinking has turned city living into hell making it impossible to sleep through the night.

Malcolm Nickolls, Aylesbury,

I regard flexible licensing as about the only decent Home Office legacy of the Blair years. Combined with strict controls on sale to minors, and bars using discretion on who they serve, it is an essential aspect of a grown up society.

Please remember, it is mature adults who want a drink after the theatre or a gig, riotous youths have always been able to go "clubbing" where no one over 35 would be seen dead.

If controls are needed, it is on shops which sell cheap booze to youngsters.

Incidentally, apart from Parliament and some five star hotels, is there anywhere serving alcohol round the clock ?

martin bright, Bracknell,

re=-instating 24-hour boozing should winn Labour some hefty donations from the brewing industry

Michael Blatchford, Bath, UK, UK

either reduce the alcohol content to 2% or lower,or raise it to 20%,for a limited time as an experiment,try a PILOT,somewhere.
In either case only a certain amount can be DRUNK.

derek bevan, huntingdon/cambs, England/UK

Drinking in the UK has reached epidemic crisis proportions resembling the era of Hogarth and the (19th culture of drink. The younger generation are setting standards for a decline in health for its successors. The (19th and earlly (20th reform movements recognized alcohol as a dangerous cause of family abuse and violence. Now that the 24 hour drink culture is shown to be fatal isn't it now time to raise the drinking age to 21, ban alcohol from supermarkets and garages, raise the price of alcohol, and return to former legislation, especially banning drinking on Sundays which will not only lead to an efficient work day on Mondays but a more healthier nation. Here "laissez-faire" has not worked and Gordon Brown is afraid of offending the lad and ladette culture that New Labour has been instrumental in creating,

Terry, Carbondale, USA

brown knows all about uturns

Roger Jones, kettering,

i don't suppose Hogarth, Mayhew or Dickens would have been very much suprised by the sight of our streets swimming with both male and female drunkards but they might have shrugged their shoulders at our attempts to Police it with a team of Keystone Cops round every corner

C Hamer, birmingham, uk

The UK has a long history of alcohol abuse going back hundreds of years, so there's nothing new about the situation as it is now, thats why the drinking laws were brought in in the first place. What's different now is the sub-culture that surrounds drinking, the total lack of respect, the selfish behaviour and the need to offend and spoil the enjoyment of others. Who in their right mind would want to walk through any of the UK's towns on a Friday or Saturday night now, you are likely to get your head kicked in by some out of control moron high on drink and drugs or if you are lucky only have to contend with navigating through urine and vomit. And they wonder why so many native British people want to leave this beautiful but increasingly spoiled country.

Ajer, Reading, UK

Calls for ban this, ban that, talk about chavs, yobs, hoodies etc. are simply that bleats of the blinkered.
Why on earth don't we ever hear a call to the government, organisations etc. to do something positive in society?
Good people not laws make a good society.

Incentivise youngsters to go away for activity weekends, volunteering, field trips abroad etc.
We could work on this 3 ways:-
1.Legislate so that an equal amount of money spent on alcohol advertising is aimed at sexing up hiking, volunteering and travelling (if you can make a beverage that makes people stupid, sleepy and obnoxious sexy anything is possible)
2. Subsidising the above activies through alcohol taxes.
3. Get newspapers and police officers to write articles about binge hiking and the dangers of excessive charitable work.

Matt, Chelmsford, Essex

oh dear what shal we do?

iknow

we'll have areview

peter codner, devizes, england

Why were liscensing laws introduced in the beginning? To restrict drinking, maintain a social structure and encourage the family to be togther (think of the drunkum father spending hs wages on the way home from work every weeK!!) It's true history always repeats itself and all we have now is the women doing it as well. Change the cultural thinking and then the habits will change, nothing else will work so stop trying.
Here in Spain the cuture is different and so the approach to drinking is so comeon Mr B. stop trying to acheive something that's impossible and work on the possible (like resigning)

Mrs Ess, Madrid, Spain

Agree with you fairpay. Except that there is no net cost to the taxpayer is there? The cynicism employed by authority today means that the cost to the public purse as a consequence of these measures is merely an offset from the revenue that they generate.

As ever the human cost is ignored and so long as the moral compass is pointing to profit then everything is fine.

Paul, Blackpool

Paul Williams, Blackpool, Lancs

How stupid and idiotic can the Government be to have not put two and two together and not realised thet the great British public cannot handle its beer!!? We are a nation of pigs and gluttons who are unable to drink sensibly on the whole.

Every weekend our cities and towns become a heaving mass of lewd, obese, drunken slobs creating mahem without regard to others. I worked in A&E for a shirt while and saw this forst hand. It was only done to line the pockets of the brewers and to curry favour with them to continue funding the party.

Fanny, Cardiff, UK

Well what a surprise. ANOTHER half-assed law they couldn't be bothered to think through, and now they realise it's caused chaos. Morons. Last year they banned magic mushrooms, which make maybe 20? 30? people a year ill. Liquor, hundreds every day and they not only condone alcohol consumption, they make it easier.

Jeremy Poynton, Fromeville, 51st State

Agree with Austin. I could not have afforded to booze like this until I was 24 or 25 (25 years ago). Only a few cheap beers at the sports club on Saturdays after the footy or cricket.

Is it funded on plastic, or by not paying rent to parents once starting work, no other "hobbies" at all, because I am baffled? My niece has a reasonable job and could not afford to live like this even if she wanted to.

Please, someone explain?

Simon Bee, Wokingham, UK

If the Police enforced the existing law, which bans the sale of drink to people who are already drunk, and if they prosecuted the landlords, bar staff and others involved, the problem might become less.......

Michael, Basingstoke, Hampshire UK

Rod Munch.......a typical anti poloice attitude..............if fairpay had not mentioned he/she was a police man would you have been so scathing......
There is a real problem that is not going away.......certain people....both men and women............are out for the night and simply drinkiung beyond their capacity............until they learn tto accept the anti-social aspect of this action then those who suffer due to this behaviour have a right to demand that 'authority' puts as top to it.
The police and local councils.through all council tax payers have to pick up the bill for this......maybe we just have a surcharge on all pubs and clubs to pay for the clean up and just let those violent nutters belt 7 bells out of each other then just give them the bill from the NHS..............
As for Germany being a shining example..get real........they have as big a problem as we do..........there is just as big a binge culture which often then flairs into racial hatred........

Peter, Birmingham, UK

Whilst banning and fines etc will have some effect, surely some nice long term, thought-out investment into cities, communities and schools wouldnt go a miss, so that kids are not as thirsty for there first drink and more thirsty to get on in life and making Britain a better place to live?

Alastair Taylor, Manchester,

fairplay from London are you for real? People are adults at 18 and legally able to both vote and die for their country. You want to stop them from drinking? This is a typical police attitude - if you cant police it then simply ban it!

If you actually knew anything about the drinking culure in this country you would understand that many problems happen because young inexperienced adults cannot handle the amount they are drinking. The glorification of alcohol in this country and the idea, mainly peddled by the media, that alcohol is evil is what drives this culture amongst young adults. Banning it will simply fuel this and make the situation worse. In countries like Germany they embrace and celebrate their beer culture and many children are introduced to alcohol at a young age giving them much needed respect for it and an understanding of the causes of drinking too much.

Perhaps the police would rather these lads take ecstacy pills, that way there would be much less vioence! Doh!

Rod Munch, Northampton, UK

I agree Fairpay.

When we were younger however, the costs were the prohibitive factor (until we reached our mid 20's) anyway.

Austin Tassletine, Bristol, UK

Chavtastic!

peter sandor, Hull, Humberside

Another nail on Brown's coffin as he dithers himself into incoherence.

devorgilla, Edinburgh,

As a Police Constable working in a large town in the south east of England, my colleagues and I have noticed the sharp increase in violent drink related crime, especially serious assaults which now take place between midnight and 5am, that never used to occur in such large numbers before the extension of licensing laws. The majority of these incidents seem to involve males aged between 18 and 21. I think the Government should look at the benefits of increasing the age with which people can legally purchase alcohol or gain entry into pubs and clubs in busy towns or cities packed with bars. It's not just the Police this increase has put pressure on, it's also the NHS and local councils who have to mop up the pieces every morning after the night before. I'd hate to think of the immense costs involved to the taxpayer!

fairpay, London,