Way back on 18 June over at Jeff's blog he rejected my comment that the SNP price per unit policy would lead to booze drives over the border to England. Something I'd earlier that day covered in more detail here.
Well it appears that the Supermarkets themselves are thinking of ways to circumvent just such a proposal. ASDA chiefs say there is nothing to stop them setting up distribution centres south of the Border so that online Scottish shoppers can pay English prices. That could be worrying for the workers at the supermarkets distribution centres that currently hug the M8 between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
So while the SNP are salivating over the possibility of declaring internet independence by changing Government address from .uk to .sco the same world wide web also is a reminder that the border with Englandshire is only about 70 miles away from our two major cities. So making too radical a change in Scotland can affect commerce, jobs etc by companies merely moving that short hop.
I still reject the idea that there will be a significant number of booze drives over the border. Until petrol becomes anywhere close to affordable then it simply will not happen anywhere other than close to the border itself.
ReplyDeleteAs for Asda's plans to set up warehouses at the English border and starting up an online delivery service, I suspect this is sabre-rattling.
If they want to be seen as profiting from a questionable service where they directly contribute to binge-drinking and lawlessness then so be it.
Personally, I don't see their venture as profitable enough to go ahead with it, aside from any downsides to their reputation.
And finally, you seem to miss the point that these are proposals that are for discussion. The Lib Dems simply saying they are unworkable without coming up with alternatives will not impress the voters very much.
I certainly don't see the SNP taking a hit in the polls over this; they are, once again, pushing the agenda and at least attempting to take the brave decisions required to solve Scotland's ills.