Top Tory argues for end to "24-hour drinking regime

A senior Conservative has hit out at the current licensing laws, arguing there is a "strong case" to end "Labour's 24-hour drinking regime".

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling made the comments yesterday during his first speech in the role, saying there should be more "robust" licensing rules.

"There is now a strong case to end Labour's twenty-four hour drinking regime," he said.

"It has not created a continental café culture - it has just made things worse in many town and city centres."

He added he would also clampdown on alcohol sales to children. "I know of one place where it is possible to get alcohol deliveries to a local park," he said. "That should be stopped."

"We cannot allow a culture of public binge-drinking and the resulting public nuisance to continue unchallenged."

However Tory leader David Cameron, asked about the Licensing Act in an interview with The Publican​ last year, said it was "right to move away from a single closing time. Flexibility was a good idea."

He also admitted there was no "silver-bullet" on binge-drinking.

"What we want is a continental social drinking culture," he told The Publican​. "But you don't get there just by changing the law, or increasing taxes, you get there by a big cultural change."

And a report from Middlesex University last year concluded that later licensing hours had not led to an increase in binge-drinking or alcohol-related crime.

According to government figures, of the 160,000 licensed premises in the UK, 6,300 have a 24-hour licence.

Just 10 per cent of these - 640 - are pubs, bars and nightclubs.