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‘Against the Booze Bans’ campaign and report launched on Bank Holiday Monday Picnic in Hyde Park

Tuesday 19 August 2008

On Monday 25 August (Bank Holiday Monday in England and Wales) the Manifesto Club will launch our new campaign and report at a Provocation Picnic: Against the Booze Bans in Hyde Park.

Our report, Against the Booze Bans and the Hyperregulation of Public Space charts the growth of Booze Bans, from Boris Johnson’s ban on alcohol on the London underground, to the creeping introduction of ‘No Alcohol Zones’ in public spaces around the UK – and as far afield as Eastern Europe, Australia and the USA.

Campaign Causes Stir on Facebook:
• With a week before the campaign is officially launched, our campaign group on Facebook has grown to well over 1000 members. Almost 100 people confirmed their attendance at the Provocation Picnic.

Our report notes:
• Alcohol bans in public space are not the result of public demand, but the petty and anti-social concerns of police, politicians and local government, who are disconnected from the public.
• Alcohol bans in public space have developed along with an infantilising culture around alcohol – with the (UK) National Union of Students campaigning against student drinking, and the government considering raising the age at which young people can buy alcohol from 18 (when they can already vote!) to 21.
• According to the Home Office, many local councils and police have overstepped their legal powers in introducing No Alcohol Zones.

We argue:
• Public space should be exactly that – places run by and in the interest of the public. They are places were we come together – to chat and socialise, to argue and campaign, to pursue our common interests.
• The niceties of public civility should be negotiated by citizens, deciding how we want to live.

Notes to Editors:
1. The Manifesto Club report Against the Booze Bans and the Hyperregulation of Public Space is published here: http://www.manifestoclub.com/boozebancampaign.
2. The Against the Booze Bans report and campaign will be launched at a Provocation Picnic: Against the Booze Bans on 25 August in Hyde Park, London.
3. The Facebook campaign group is here: http://tinyurl.com/5vjb3h
4. For media enquiries contact James Panton on +44 (0)7792 795 462 or info@manifestoclub.com