London – Some see the dawn of civilized cafe society, others a boozy Armageddon.
Either way, it is last call for the early pub-closing times that have shocked many a visitor since their introduction during World War I.
The government hopes the change, which takes effect today, will stop the flood of binge drinkers spilling onto the streets of England and Wales at the traditional 11 p.m. closing time.
The new rules allow pubs, bars, shops, restaurants and clubs to apply to stay open any hours they like, although each license must be approved by local authorities.
Supporters say the changes will end the scramble to guzzle as much booze as possible in the last minutes before closing time, thus cutting down on alcohol-fueled violence.
British consumption of alcohol is not the heaviest in Europe, but it is the most notorious. The propensity for bingeing has spawned newspaper headlines warning that round-the-clock drinking would unleash tides of “drunken yobs” and “booze-fueled louts” on the nation.
Police chiefs warn of a rise in booze-fueled crime, and health agencies say alcohol consumption, and its attendant ills, inevitably will increase.
The government has said alcohol factors into 44 percent of violent crime, while alcohol-related accidents account for 70 percent of hospital emergency-room cases at busy times.
Britain’s licensing laws – largely unchanged since they were tightened in 1915 to keep factory workers sober – have long been derided as an anachronism. They required most pubs to close at 11 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 10:30 p.m. on Sundays.
Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell said the closing time was effectively a “national curfew” that had been “unfair in principle and wrong in practice.”
The change also gives police more power to shut problem bars and punish underage drinking.
