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I'm reading this as an outsider (US) and wondering who the people proposing these policies are, and why they're so opposed to fun, nightlife, and supporting long-standing traditions? I've been to the UK many times and loved the pub scene.
Is this is an anti-alcohol ploy dressed in crime-fighting garb?
who the people proposing these policies
Tories.
why they’re so opposed to fun, nightlife, and supporting long-standing traditions
Because they're Tories.
The council area is London's biggest night life area, the local residents have elected a council who is determined to kill that. Businesses dont get to vote. So the small number if residents get to kill thousands of businesses.
It is democracy but not as we know it it Jim
I will never understand the mentality of people moving to an area known for its lively nightlife, and then complaining about said lively nightlife being too loud. Yeah it is loud, that's why hardly anyone wants to live there, why do you live there?
I've just properly read the article now. They are complaining about Soho, which is rather like the residents of las Vegas complaining about casinos, if you killed the casinos you kill the city because there's bugger all else there.
Just shut the pubs. And the night clubs. And the cinemas. And the theatres. It's about time we all started wearing black and white clothing, covering our heads and restoring the Puritan way of life. Wasn't the UK a much happier place when we had witch-hunters and ducking stools?
You can't dunk witches in the River anymore. It's to polluted
They’d burn quicker afterward though.
You’re right. It would be unethical.
I don’t even understand the intention
Historically, "bars" which had almost no seating or tables, and nowhere to even put your drink down for a second, meant that people kept their drink in hand all the time, which meant they'd finish a pint in 15 minutes instead of 30 minutes - so after 2 hours, 8 pints in, the bar had made a tidy profit, and the fully shitfaced customer would stagger down to the kebab shop, start a fight and then throw up on their own shoes.
By comparison, a pub, with chairs and tables, people would drink half as much in the same time period, and perhaps be less likely to engage in the kebab shop fight/vomit situation.
I think that's what they're getting at - which I can sort of see, but making it all "table service only" sounds silly though. Just give them some little shelves round the walls and columns to put their drinks down on.
It's a good explanation and would be logical if the council were acting in good faith, however the primary driver here is to reduce the number of people who are able to patronise these pubs and thus put them out of business.
A table and 4 chairs takes about the same space as a dozen people standing, and most of these pubs are on comparatively thin margins. Reduce the turnover by that much and they're out of business. Which is what this residents group wants.
They're pushing a lot of other restrictions not just the no standing, closing pubs at 10pm on weekends is clearly intended to make them less attractive to potential patrons for example
I think that's the way they're trying to frame it. I'm not sure it's particularly true. Many of the bars in Soho and in the UK in general are just tiny and need standing service or they wouldn't be able to operate.
I see! Thanks for the explanation. I agree it seems like providing some seating and darts is a happy middleground, I want a safe place to lounge when I drink and don’t want to bother the sober people.
Would love to see the person that introduced this, and would love to have been there when they did, to see who all the others were that thought it was a great idea, and then ask the locals if they voted for any of them, and if so, why.