Finally, the Health Loonies get their way!

Long we have bemoaned the state of this country as the 'healthists' marched ever onward, invading our lives in every way possible. The smoking ban was, without doubt the pinnacle of their single minded assault on our freedoms-and they achieved that in 2007, much to the disgust of approximately 12 million smokers. I won't bother to go into the usual splattering of wordage to describe the effects of their dastardly work save to say WE WARNED YOU THEN!

In 2007 we warned you that the smoking ban was just the start. Alcohol would be next and 'fatties' (no offence intended of course) would be third on the list; and so it has proven to be.

With 6.500 venues already gone and many more yet to fall, it seems incredible that this new coalition (who have actually sworn to support the British Pub) have introduced more 'stress' for licensees under The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill unveiled today. Let's have a little wander through some of the wordage:-

* New powers to stop premises selling alcohol late at night and punish those that persistently sell alcohol to children with fines of up to £20,000 Can't faul;t that one folks.

* Everyone will be given the chance to comment on individual licensing applications – not just those living close to the premises No0w just WHAT does 'everyone' mean? Living in Leicester am I now entitled me to object to someone's licensing hours in Glasgow or the Isle of Wight? Can I, as a private individual, object to any license application I feel like objecting to?

* Health bodies will become a responsible authority This is where it gets worrying, very worrying indeed! Primary Care Trusts and Health Boards will be listed as a responsible authority under the act, which means they can object to licences and call for a licence review. We4 are in dangerous territory here folks for this could mean that all hospitals have a hit list of pubs. A blacklist of pubs that provide most drunken fools or injured persons. Could be an innocent passer by who happens to trip outside "The Nags Head" but the unfortunate "Nags Head" will receive a black mark against its name.

Three strikes and you're out maybe? PCT's & Health Boards will weild the 'Sword of Damocles' if they so desire - a system wide open to blackmail, corruption and abuse by some!

* Charge for late-night licences to pay for extra policingWell, money had to come into it somewhere along the line didn't it? Hit the licensee yet again with extra costs, ensure that the pubs are all closed by 11pm at night again. Just think, home drinkers will be able to totter down to their local (if it's not been shut down already) and have the last pint of the night straight from the pump! Won't that excite licensees who have struggled to find customers all night. How much will this cost night clubs one asks? Is it possible that we will see a rapid increase in the closure rates of these younger generation venues? The smoking ban has got rid of 10% of them so far, perhaps financial encumberances will get rid of another 10%-20%-30% of them, who knows? Sure seems a good way to cull the hospitality outlets to me.

* Suspend licences if fees are not paid Just a natural follow on.

* Scrapping bureaucratic and unused alcohol disorder zones Something moderately sensible for if these zones are not being used by people because they now stop at home instead then they are a pointless exercise!

* A commitment to review the mandatory licensing code within 12 months of its introduction to assess its impact and any unnecessary burdens on business An absolute classic! Like the smoking ban then-all they'll do is listen to the Health Lobbyists (who will have found plenty to grumble about in 12 months) and then decide more restrictions are needed; like plain labelling on bottled beers or beer pumps must be hidden from the sight of children whilst out eating with their parents. It won't occur to these purile wankers that another 6,500 pubs, clubs, Bingo halls or night clubs have fallen by the wayside - oh no - the Healthists are on the march, zerom (minimising) costs to the NHS is their only concern. They sit at night dreaming more restrictions up as they quietly finish of yet another bottle of supermarket wine.

Ther link to all this 'gubbins' is here.

I will leave you to make your own minds up, mines already made. Freddom2choose stated 3 yeas ago that it was Smokers..1, Booze/Drinkers..2, & Obesity..3. Exactly the order any old government (it now seems) are taking. So much for 'call me Dave' & the secret puffer 'Cleggerons' promise to reform the previous gestapo's heavy handed legislation! They all 'piss in the same pot' it seems, which does not bode well for the rank & file of this country who basically want to finish a days work and pottle off down the pub for a fag and a pint but are finding such welcoming abodes harder and harder to come across as legislaters march ever onwards.

Anuerin Bevan instigated the National Health service on July 5th, 1948 so that all inhabitants of this once fair and just land could receive equal medical treatment irrespective of creed or class. Fifty years on and we find a tier system operating for those who can afford BUPA can have faster medical attention-from the same bloody doctors/surgeons at your local NHS hospital! Sixty years on and we see a divide growing as some loonies demand that smokers be refused treatment on the NHS as it 'costs' too much or 'it's self inflicted'. The mere fact that the smokers prop up the NHS to the tune of £11bn or £12bn per annum seems irrelevant to the health loonies for they are so blinkered. These are people so devoid of imagination that if tobacco was totally outlawed & smuggling eradicated, they would not understand why Income Tax had just risen by £30p to compensate for losses of revenue. Would they then ban AIDS sufferers from health care for that is 'self inflicted'? Would sports injuries, DIY injuries etc be banned from treatments for they are all 'self inflicted'?

For the Health Lobby to gain a foothold in the say so of our heritage, our British pubs, it is akin to starting a bush-fire - how far will the damage spread? The might of the health Lobby is so great in this day and age that no hospitality venue is safe from their scrutiny.

I shall be interested in phase3 because when you look around our hospitals you would be amazed to see just how many of the staff are obese or clini8cally obese. Now just what are the health Lobby going to do about 'regulating their own ship' I wonder? Three weeks to lose a stone in weight or you're out perhaps? Every single hospital will be very short staffed after 4 weeks.

Beginning to see just how far and how dangerous a road we are now on? Yet 'call me Dave' and the schoolboy 'Cleggeron' have done nothing to thwart the ominous advances of the health Lobby The countries Chief medical Officer might just as well now be Prime Minister!