SYP pushes for plans to raise the drinking age to be dropped

In 2008, the SYP campaigned successfully for the Scottish Government to drop their plans to raise the purchase age of alcohol to 21. The plans have now been revived in a measure that could see 18, 19 and 20 year olds in selected towns and villages across Scotland unable to buy alcohol. Young people across the country have told the SYP that this would be a mistake, so this week we asked the Scottish Parliament to drop the proposal.

The measure is part of the Alcohol Bill which the Scottish Government are considering. While there is much in the Bill that the SYP feels would really help Scotland’s problems with drink, this particular proposal, which would require each of Scotland’s 40 local Licensing Boards to consider raising the purchase age of alcohol to 21, could see particular towns, entire local authority areas or even individual shops refusing to sell young people to alcohol who are over the national minimum purchase age.

Based on what young people across Scotland have told us over the past two years, the SYP feels that alcohol misuse is by no means a problem that’s reserved to under 21 year olds. We know that most young people over young adults over the age of 18 drink responsibly, and don’t need supervising to make sure they’re not drinking too much. The SYP thinks that taking away a right that 18 to 20 year olds enjoy is unjustified and for the wrong reasons.

After all, people much older than 21 cause problems whilst drunk too, and whilst anti-social behaviour is a big issue in many towns in Scotland, this goes deeper than whether a particular age group can buy alcohol or not. In some ways, this plan is even more worrying for young people than the last one – the Licensing Boards are likely to apply the law in an inconsistent way and might well bring back the rejected national purchase age rise through the back door, out of the Scottish Parliament’s control.

Alcohol misuse is clearly a problem in Scotland, with a staggering report this week revealing that each adult in Scotland on drinks a staggering ten pints each week. Based on what young people have told us, the SYP supports plans to introduce a minimum price for alcoholic drinks, a plan which is the focus of much media attention. We feel that it strikes the right balance between tackling irresponsible drinking and not punishing people on lower incomes who do drink responsibly.

The SYP also supports plans to make alcohol retailers help pay for the damage alcohol causes, responsible marketing of drink and a mandatory ‘Challenge 21’ scheme in shops that sell alcohol. For full details of what we told the Parliament, you can download our full response below.