Tories' three-strikes underage sales plan
The Conservative Party wants a "three strikes and you're out" rule for underage booze sales and a ban on selling alcohol below cost price.
The Tories also want maximum fines for repeated underage sales to double from £10,000 to £20,000.
This comes as pressure mounts on supermarkets to abandon below-cost alcohol deals and do more to stop underage sales. A party spokesman stressed: "While this will apply to both the on-trade and the off-trade, it's aimed at off-licence premises. That's where we see the problem being."
The plans are part of a
new policy for "tougher action to curb underage binge drinking".
The Tories want to change the Licensing Act so that any venue serving alcohol to an under-18 could get a fine and a licence suspension.
A second offence within three years would mean an automatic fine and review of its licence. A third failure would trigger an automatic licence revocation and a fine.
The party is to seek legal advice about making below-cost alcohol sales illegal without breaking European competition laws. The Conservatives' Alcohol Policy Group will draw up detailed proposals on this issue in the coming weeks.
Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said that the Government's lax approach
to "so-called" 24-hour drinking has fuelled crime and
disorder.
"There are no simple solutions. We need concerted law enforcement to curb the mayhem generated by this reckless approach.
"Today we are sending a clear signal that a Conservative government will take action to prevent the cheap sale of cut-price alcohol and clamp down on the minority of retailers who turn a blind eye to those buying alcohol who are underage."
