The Scottish Government is on an 'ideological' crusade to stop people drinking alcohol and to destroy the traditional Scottish pub culture, according to one leading figure in the hospitality industry. Justin Wingate points to a number of 'draconian' policies over the years, most recently the failure to pass on rates relief. Nicola Sturgeon said that tackling Scotland's drinking culture would be her biggest legacy, she promised to rid Scotland of its biggest ill which was alcoholism." The Scottish Government wasted £169m on DRS, that's £169m that could've gone towards rates relief. In an interview with Alistair Campbell in GQ in 2015, she described alcohol as "too much of an ever-present" and said: "We identify having a good time with drinking alcohol, having a sh*t time with drinking alcohol, being happy with drinking alcohol, being sad with drinking alcohol."

Source: Express February 16, 2024 23:07 UTC