Welcome to England! Our country is proudly British, we all follow tradition and none of us are ashamed to own a picture of the Queen in our home! Sorry, but this is just not Britain anymore. The majority of Brits in this country would regard themselves simply as English and “God save the Queen” seems to ring awkwardly because most people don’t believe in God and the Queen is simply ‘that unelected, unrepresentative monarch’. There is no doubt that the 21st Century is going to be an interesting one. Already we are far more technologically advanced compared to the early 20th century and an emphasis upon liberty seems to be pushed as being a human right.

Every human is open to their own decisions... but when those decisions harm another human being suddenly a liberal mindset seems wrong. How is a liberal state of mind meant to work when there are definitely ethical absolutes which you must observe within society? This, I think, is part of the problem our country is facing at the moment. People can lead their liberal lives but when something goes wrong a call of action is evoked and people realise the world is something more than a free state of mind. A realisation of truth hits those who have been affected by crime, violence and other offences – that our country needs to be fixed.

No doubt a major factor behind crime is alcohol. The sheer number of police on the streets have been placed there simply to monitor and control the ones utterly intoxicated with the drink. So when a legislation of ‘under 18s banned from drinking in public places’ comes through suddenly I am forced to reconsider my immediate reaction of disapproval.

We have to understand that not all under 18s drink heavily and over 18s can drink equally irresponsibly. Recently I went on a student exchange trip to Denmark and although the drinking in Denmark was also heavy, it was far more controlled. People would have fun at the parties/bars, then later go onto the streets and not cause any harm. Our country is a death trap once the bars close, like a zoo except the cages have been removed. Only way to sort the problem out is to put the cages back in place, pass the new legislation.

Or is it?

I’m rather sceptical of this, yet another, new legislation. It is impossible to enforce and is discriminating against an age group. It is possible that many under 18s drink because they enjoy the drink, not the drunkenness and all this legislation seems to be is yet more red tape around an already choking Britain. I used to be a responsible under 18 year old and if I had my drink taken away from me in public simply due to my age I would be outraged.

I can see the benefits of this ban but the utilitarian approach to it only ruins the moral teenager’s fun.