Plan to limit ‘vertical drinking’ decried by pub landlords and UK politicians

LONDON (AP) — A proposal to limit “vertical drinking,” a bureaucratic euphemism for having a pint while standing, has turned into a political headache for one local government council in London. Politicians from Prime Minister Andy Burnham to London Mayor Sadiq Khan have piled in to decry the idea from Westminster City Council, which is responsible for licensing pubs and restaurants in the West End, a nightlife hub popular with tourists and locals. A feature of many of those pubs is the crowd of drinkers who mill around sharing drinks with friends, often spilling out into the street on warm spring and summer evenings.

Lesley Lewis, who has run the French House pub in Soho for 37 years, said discouraging that tradition would only drive customers to other parts of the city. “We rely on those people standing up with the rents and the rates (taxes) put upon us,” she said. “People want to enjoy themselves in Soho, they want to have a drink outside, they want to dance.

They don’t want to sit down and just be where they are, they want to meet people and chat.” With British newspapers filled with headlines such as “Sitting room only at pubs?” and “Soho’s pubs won’t take clamp down on ‘vertical drinking’ lying down,” the Westminster council hit back at “confusing” news stories that misrepresented its plans. Council leader Paul Swaddle issued a press release stressing that the proposal was part of a draft policy that is still open for public comment. The council’s goal is to reduce noise and disorderly behavior by encouraging bars and restaurants to serve more people at their tables, not bar anyone from having a drink while standing, he said.

“Let me be clear about what we’re trying to achieve,’’ he said. “This is about safety, not stopping anyone standing at a bar with a pint in their hand.’’ The council’s draft licensing policy includes a proposal to discourage “excessive drunkenness” by encouraging business owners to provide more opportunities “for people to sit and enjoy a drink and order food by table service in place of open bar space that caters for high volume vertical drinking.” Westminster has more pubs, bars and restaurants licensed to sell alcohol than any other local authority in the U.K. While the council’s policy statement stresses the important role the hospitality industry plays in the local economy, it also says local leaders must ensure Westminster…