Nanny Back on the Sauce?

A Glass...For Now

Distressing news has recently reached me from a former colleague who now works for Accenture, but whose opinion I still trust. The evil empire has dispatched him to an English town not far from where I grew up. I shall not name it as the local rag where he read the news has no web presence so until I have his promised press clipping by snail mail I don't have documentary proof. Strangely he had no access to a scanner. Perhaps not strangely though, as he is working on a government project which probably means that it will go horribly wrong at some stage, so it might be a sensible leak control mechanism. It’s the clipping itself he is sending, not a photocopy which might also be significant.

The gist of it though is that yet again a local authority is proposing mandatory use of polycarbonate ‘glasses’ in place of the traditional ones made of, erm, glass. Now, applied in a limited sensible way this seems like good policy. Some councils are considering the measure as a licensing condition for pubs with a track record of violent incidents and plastics are certainly a little safer. In some places even without a likelihood of any trouble, like outdoors and at sporting events it makes perfect sense too.

One problem however is that a local MP is apparently quoted as saying that a national scheme merits serious attention. He couldn't remember the name of the MP when I spoke to him, but knew it was a woman. Checking on potentially interested local MPs one name sprung to the fore, the same delightful Caroline Flint I commented on earlier today. God forbid that it gets on her agenda, because experience tells us that the only thing that she will not accept any form of sensible policy. She would want to make sure that those in the leafy suburbs and the countryside suffer the same crap drinking vessels as the type of scum that create the agro and probably (if they vote at all) vote for her and her brain dead party.

The other issue is that polycarbonate really isn't that much safer. Albeit accidentally incurred I've seen some pretty nasty cuts from broken polycarbonate glasses too. The alternatives are not appealing, mainly consisting of vessels with the structural integrity of a plastic sandwich packet; you know the ones, the type where you have to stack three inside each other to make it possible to hold them crushing out the beer. There are even worse possibilities.

I've had a look and there don’t appear to be any proposals coming forward on the Westminster agenda, but its one of those areas where eternal vigilance is called for. It must be realised that being known as "the one who introduced the Tupperware pint" would actually be considered a badge of honour by the type of froth that rises to the top of the NuLab glass.

I hope I'm wrong but let us not forget these words attributed to Winston Churchill,

"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery."

Sir Winston Spencer Churchill KG (1874-1965)

NuLab cronies actually probably think the last clause is there for balance and showed that there was some hope for the great gentleman.

I shall attack more fully when I see the evidence.

Update 10:30PM: Everyone at the mother ship thinks the legislation is on the way...have I missed something? Very worrying.