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Spectator
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
Labour's votes for teenagers ruse will backfire
Our economy is on the rocks, legal and illegal immigration remains out of control, public services are creaking, and a looming debt crisis is on the horizon. But fear not. Labour has announced its big idea for turning around Britain's fortunes: votes for children. Around 1.5 million 16 and 17-year-olds will be able to vote at the next general election, under government plans to lower the voting age. Keir Starmer says older teenagers are 'old enough to go out to work, they are old enough to pay taxes' and, so, they are old enough to vote. Democracy Minister Rushanara Ali has pretentiously described the change as 'seismic' – as if this is somehow comparable with the extension of the franchise to women or the working class. Let's be clear: Labour is not striking a blow for electoral equality. They are engaging in student gesture politics. Votes for 16-year-olds is the kind of policy that wins a cheap round of applause on university campuses, but for which there is little public demand and even less intellectual reasoning. Labour has never been able to make up its mind about when adulthood truly begins. In 2003, the Licensing Act made it illegal to sell alcohol to under-18s at licensed premises. In 2005, the Gambling Act set the minimum age for gambling at 18. You're not even allowed to play the National Lottery until your 18th birthday. In 2008, the school leaving age was effectively raised to 18. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which the UK is a signatory, says no person under the age of 18 should participate in hostilities. And, in 2022, the age at which someone can marry was increased from 16 to 18. So if 16 is too young to fight, marry, drink, gamble or leave school – why is it somehow old enough to vote? The most nauseating response is that teenagers are increasingly affected by government decisions, whether about education, climate change or online regulation. But as GB News's Tom Harwood brilliantly demonstrated with his satirical 'Votes at 12' campaign a few years ago: the same argument can be made about children of almost any age. If you accept the need for the line to be drawn somewhere when it comes to voting, surely it makes sense to draw it at the point of adulthood? There is a reasonable case that adulthood begins at 16, but if Labour truly believes that, then it should first begin by undoing the prohibitive legislation of recent decades. The Reform party's appointment of teenage councillors to run local services was met with fierce criticism from Labour types; yet the Starmer's party is now advocating votes at 16. Will the government's new Elections Bill also allow 16 and 17-year-olds to run for office? If so, will Labour MPs keep schtum when the councillor in charge of children's services is themselves a child? I have long suspected that Labour's real reason for wanting votes at 16 is to further its own electoral interests. But this, too, is wrong on a number of levels. Firstly, no constitutional change should ever happen for party political reasons. Secondly, it is deeply naive to assume that 16 and 17-year-olds are more likely to be attracted to Starmer's technocratic government than to the radicalism of Reform or a new left-wing party led by Jeremy Corbyn. There is a reason Nigel Farage is by some distance the most followed British politician on TikTok. As unlikely as it may seem, the tweed-clad former City boy connects with younger voters in a way the Labour leadership simply doesn't. If Morgan McSweeney and the bright sparks in Downing Street think this teenage voting ruse will help Starmer's prospects at the next election, they should be careful what they wish for.
Wales Online
28-06-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
Residents 'fed up' because another shop and off-licence will open
Residents 'fed up' because another shop and off-licence will open The owners will meet all licensing conditions and refurbish a retail unit which has been empty for years, says their agent The former hairdresser's on Terrace Road, Mount Pleasant, where a new shop and off-licence will trade (Image: Richard Youle ) A new convenience store and off-licence will open in an area of Swansea which many residents claim has problems with crime and anti-social behaviour. Nearly 150 people opposed a premises licence application for the new store in Mount Pleasant but a council sub-committee was satisfied, after hearing from the applicant's agent and other parties, that key licensing objectives would be promoted as required under the 2003 Licensing Act. The shop and off-licence will replace a former hairdresser's on the corner of Terrace Road and Harcourt Street, which is close to Terrace Road Primary School. Objectors were worried that pupils walking to and from school may encounter people drinking alcohol on the street and cross Terrace Road to avoid them. According to their submissions, the school's lollipop lady wasn't replaced after being knocked down by a vehicle a few years ago. They also alleged that drug-taking and street drinking were prevalent in Mount Pleasant, with one person claiming they picked up more than 20 small bottles of vodka in a day while litter-picking at a park off Primrose Hill a few streets away. Mandeep Bhattal, speaking on behalf of objectors at the licensing sub-committee meeting, said people living closest to the proposed shop were concerned about potential anti-social behaviour and littering. He also claimed the area didn't have a dedicated police community support officer. He said: "We have asked and asked but South Wales Police seems to be a bit overstretched." He added: "A lot of residents are fed up." Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here Article continues below Surendra Panchal, an agent on behalf of applicant DSC Food and Wine Ltd, said licensing objectives would be "robustly defended" and that the long-empty premises would be refurbished and have new external lighting and CCTV coverage. The meeting heard there were six written objections and a petition signed by around 140 people, but no written representations from South Wales Police. Committee chairwoman, Cllr Penny Matthews, said she found this "a bit surprising" given the issues raised. A photo from the side of the empty unit (Image: Richard Youle ) Mr Panchal said the family who would run the business had experience of managing shops and had never breached any licence conditions. He said staff would operate a Challenge 25 policy and ask for "proper" identification, and that drunk customers would not be served. He said refusals as well as incidents would be logged and that there would be signs asking customers to leave the premises quietly. He added: "We are happy to work along with our neighbours." Mr Panchal said the question of children walking to school was not a matter for the sub-committee, and also asked if the petition of objection had been left in nearby shops for people to sign. Mr Bhattal said a copy had been left in a shop as well as being taken in person to people's homes, and that all the names on it were "actual residents". Article continues below Cllr David Phillips, whose ward includes Mount Pleasant, said there were a number of premises selling alcohol in the area and that cumulative impact should be a valid consideration for the sub-committee. "It's almost certainly going to result in more people drinking on the street," said Cllr Phillips. However, he welcomed an offer by Mr Panchal to reduce the proposed licensing hours on Sundays from 8am to 11pm to 8am to 10.30pm. Alcohol would be sold from 8am to 11pm from Monday to Saturday. Mr Panchal said the licence, if granted, would result in new investment, jobs, and that the new store would offer a delivery service to elderly residents. After retiring to consider the evidence, the sub-committee decided to award the premises licence, which has 20 conditions.
Scotsman
22-05-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
New owner of only shop in East Lothian village bids to have alcohol licence reinstated
A village shop which was barred from selling alcohol just before Christmas two years ago is bidding to have its licence reinstated. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The Premier store, in Gifford, was ordered to stop selling booze by East Lothian Licensing Board in December 2023 after it was claimed the premises manager was not a 'fit person' to operate it'. At the time the board's licensing standards officer raised concern about staff at the store, training and a lack of management oversight. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Next week the board will hear an application from a new premises manager Prasanth Baskaran to take over the shop and introduce alcohol sales again. Gifford village shop was previously known as Nisa but is now Premier, according to the licence application | Google Maps No objections have been lodged by Police Scotland however the licensing standards officer's report raised continued concern about the operations at the store. In it she says the former manager remains landlord of the shop and during a visit to it last month staff appeared not to know who their new boss was. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad She adds: 'I asked the staff member if Mr Baskaran worked at the shop and was told no. He said he was one of three staff members who lived together at the rented property Gifford (at the address of applicant given). 'Currently I'm concerned about the applicant's apparent lack of involvement in the premises.' Despite concerns the officer adds the shop is the only convenience store in the village and the application is compliant with the Licensing Act.
Evening Standard
17-05-2025
- Evening Standard
Fulham residents raise thousands to block 24-hour McDonald's 'crime magnet'
Charlotte Dexter, who lives locally, said: 'This part of Fulham is densely residential, almost four times the London average. It's time to get back to the intention of Parliament back in 2003 when the Licensing Act was enacted. It did not intend to force Licensing Committees to allow our residential neighbourhoods to be desecrated with crime-attracting takeaways for the sake of treating businesses with a 'soft-touch', as long as they promise to do their best to prevent crime and nuisance.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
Shop owner sold illegal tobacco as well as vapes to underage children
A shop owner sold illegal tobacco as well as vapes and alcohol to underage children. Following an investigation by East Sussex Trading Standards, Lhon Karimi, 29, of Devonshire Road in Hastings, was sentenced to 12 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, given a £230 fine and ordered to pay £500 costs at Hastings Magistrates Court on April 24. The offences, which took place in 2023 and 2024, concerned illegal tobacco and cigarettes offered for sale as well as underage alcohol and vape sales at Karimi's shop Delboys in Castle Street in Hastings. East Sussex Trading Standards inspected the premises in May 2023 after a child test purchaser was able to buy a can of cider from the store. Counterfeit cigarettes and cigarettes and tobacco in non-standardised packaging were discovered. Hidden vapes found by the inspectors (Image: ESCC) A packet of illegal cigarettes was also sold by Karimi to an adult test purchaser in September 2023. A second inspection of the shop in April 2024, following the sale of an illegal over capacity vape to a child test purchaser the week before, resulted in the discovery of more illegal cigarettes. After initially pleading not guilty to all the charges put to him at court appearances throughout 2024, Karimi changed his plea at the start of his trial in December last year. Karimi pleaded guilty to five counts of breaching the Trade Marks Act, two counts of supplying tobacco in non-standardised packaging and one count each of breaching the Licensing Act and breaching the Children and Families Act. At the sentencing hearing last month, the court noted there was 'some ignorance and naivety' on Karimi's part and that he pleaded guilty once he understood the offence. Hidden cigarettes and tobacco in the shop (Image: ESCC) READ MORE: Constance Marten calls time on her evidence on her baby girl's death The court also made an order for the forfeiture and destruction of all the stock seized. Councillor Penny di Cara, the county council's lead member for economy, said: 'Whilst this case has taken some time to reach a conclusion, hopefully the prosecution and conviction will make it clear we will pursue offenders through the courts. 'We take the supply of illegal tobacco very seriously. The sale of cheap tobacco is widely acknowledged to negatively affect communities and encourage smoking among young people due to cheaper prices, as well as undermining the efforts of stop smoking services. 'The sale of alcohol and vapes to our young people is unacceptable and potentially exposes them to the addiction and health risks associated with the underage use of nicotine and alcohol.'
