Police have been given extra powers to tackle binge-drinking problems, including the temporary closure of pubs that have public order problems.

The government argues that allowing pubs and bars to stay open longer will help curb the binge drinking and stop thousands of drinkers being turned on to the streets at the same time.

Do you think that pub opening hours should be extended? Do you think that relaxing licensing will increase violent crime?

This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

The following comments reflect the balance of the opinion we have received:

They should seriously cut down on drinking Suzzanne, Chippenham, Wiltshire

I think it's all got silly. Open the pubs for longer, people will drink more. I don't know about banning smoking, they should seriously cut down on drinking.
Suzzanne, Chippenham, Wiltshire

I run my own pub/restaurant and totally agree with the police that there should be no relaxation in the licensing law.
James Riley, Ayrshire, Scotland

Look, instead of just banning smoking in pubs, why don't we just close them all? Problem solved? I think not.
Will, East Sussex

I'm at a loss to understand why people need to down 3+ drinks at closing time anyway. I like a drink, we all do, but is it actually fun to drink yourself into a violent and oblivious state? Obviously I am either missing something, or perhaps we need to be educating people that there are a lot more fun things to do in life than getting bladdered?
John, UK

I recently visited a friend in Glasgow where the laws are much more relaxed. For a city the size of Glasgow, there is very little alcohol related trouble compared to big cities in England where the licensing laws encourage binge drinking.
Michael, Charlotte NC, USA

We have been turned into a culture of people who finish work on average at 5.30pm and then have to drink before 11pm resulting in many people abusing alcohol and throwing as much down their neck as they can before the bell rings. Whereas longer opening hours reduces the need for this and people will drink at a more relaxed pace reducing violence etc in the streets.
Harvey Osborne, Kent, England

Still the problem of binge drinking will remain Joe Bardon, Heckmondwike

I agree, if we relax licensing laws, drunken disorderly behaviour will probably decline but still the problem of binge drinking will remain. I personally think the media should be more responsible and stop perpetuating this "lad" culture. Yes drinking is a part of British culture but it's not a part to be so proud of. Maybe also, we could do with some other cheap forms of entertainment so we don't have to go out to the pub every night.
Joe Bardon, Heckmondwike, West Yorks.

I think it's a shame that all these people feel that they can't go out without getting drunk.
Lianne, Cannock, UK

The whole system is entirely illogical. Why, for example, can you not buy booze until 8am, but 10am on Sunday? It seems to me that it would be better to scrap the whole nonsense and let pubs, supermarkets etc just get on with running their businesses.
Bob, Chester, UK

It is quite apparent from all of the real-life police action documentaries that alcohol directly fuels violent crime. If and when licensing laws are relaxed, will the government allow the police to actually do their job and protect Joe Public with none of the red tape and political correctness?
Emma, East Sussex, UK

As alcohol is the cause of much street crime at night anyway, it seems ridiculous to relax the licensing laws Justin, Bristol

As alcohol is the cause of much street crime at night anyway, it seems ridiculous to relax the licensing laws in order to reduce violence. Once again, the government has contradicted itself.
Justin, Bristol, England

I was stationed in Germany during 1969/70 where bars usually stayed open until the last person left. I rarely went out before 11pm but still managed to binge drink my way into a stupor. Either way you will still face the problem. It's inherent in the British psyche.
Chris Naylor, Nottingham, England

I grew up in Scotland, which has much more relaxed opening hours. It makes sense, as there is no rush of people all trying to get a taxi, kebab or into a club at the same time. It makes nights out a lot less stressful!
Adam Smith, London

I live just across the road from a local pub and would certainly protest against any extension of its licensing hours beyond 11pm. The reason- by 11.30pm the place is shut and the street is quiet. I get some sleep. Extend these hours and you have the usual selection of characters singing and shouting into the wee small hours, waking the local residents.
John, Edinburgh, Scotland

Placing petty restrictions on the pleasures in life simply encourages people to abuse them Jay, Hull, England

When I was younger, and licensing laws were even sillier, the nearby town of Beverley was the only place you could get a drink on a Saturday afternoon. As a result, the place was full of drunken louts from Hull like myself. Placing petty restrictions on the pleasures in life simply encourages people to abuse them. This is something the puritan mindset is incapable of grasping.
Jay, Hull, England

Why do the majority of people here believe that 'getting drunk' is part of going out? You can easily go out to the pub, have a good time, and come home completely sober. This just shows that for many people, alcohol is a necessary evil, and thus changing the licensing laws will achieve nothing!
Andy, Leeds, UK

Surely the juxtaposition of "civilized" and "drinking culture" makes an near perfect definition of an oxymoron?...
Alain Dekker, Manchester, UK

We have a lot of "lock-ins" at my local. It's a perfect example of what happens if people are allowed to drink until they want to stop. We drink until we feel tired and relaxed and ready to go home. No pressure, no problems, no bingeing.
Alex, Sheffield

Absolutely not. If anything they should be increased. Nightclubs and bars make huge profits and breed violence, litter and have young people behaving like animals. We are becoming a drinking nation and I'm sure we will pay the price later on.
Jim, Chelmsford, Essex

I'd rather trust the opinion of those that are forced to deal with the violent and drunken behaviour Chris, London, UK

So, we have 2 differing opinions. Mr. Blunkett believes there will not be a significant increase in drink-related incidents, the police disagree. Personally, I'd rather trust the opinion of those that are forced to deal with the violent and drunken behaviour we see every weekend, and therefore understand the issues rather better.
Chris, London, UK

When a pub rings the bell for last orders every student runs to the bar and buys 3+ drinks. Then just as its going to their heads we all get thrown out onto Union Street where the results are seen. If there was no last orders then you would drink to your leisure and leave when you want. Everyone would not be in everyone else's face at once. This would also stop man queues outside clubs of which is the location of many fights.
Gregory Gilding, Plymouth

The problem here is that both sides of the argument are right. If licensing laws are relaxed then yes, we are going to have the pain of an immediate increase in drinking and it's associated ills. However, the mindset of getting as much in as possible in the time given will be pointless in the next generation of drinkers and as such in the longer term the troubles will ease. It's a bitter pill but if we want to cut binge drinking we are going to have to accept some pain for the long term gain.
Phillip Holley, UK, Cambs

Blunkett is out to destroy everything that makes Britain, Britain.
David Luck, Reading Berks

Current licensing laws were brought in during WWI Simon Soaper, England

Given that the current licensing laws were brought in during WWI to ensure that arms production were not effected, I think we can safely declare WWI over and it safe to go back to normal again.
Simon Soaper, England

Having closing time at 11pm just means that people have a target time to get drunk by. By extending licensing hours the situation changes as there is not so much of a need to drink so much so quickly.
Ben Stickley, London, UK

Relax the general drinking laws by all means, but at the same time raise the drinking age to 23.
Keith, England

Having worked in many pubs before, it is clear to see that an 11.00 closing time is too early. People hate being asked to leave at this time and virtually every night I worked resulted in arguments because of it. I once worked in a bar which shut at 2am. After other pubs shut, we became incredibly busy, with very little trouble. By 01.00, many people would have left of their own accord, getting the rest of the punters to leave an hour later was never that difficult. People resort to causing trouble because there's little else to do once they've been turfed out of the pub, and it's too early to go home..
Joel Newnham, Bromley, Kent, UK

There is enough drinking going on in the country as it is Richard, Wales, UK

It seems to me that there is enough drinking going on in the country as it is. Do we really need to relax the drinking laws still further? I presume that the authorities are thinking of bringing drinking laws in the UK in line with those in Europe. They should remember, however, that many Europeans have a different 'relationship' with booze than many British do. I believe it is true to say that the French, for instance, are less prone to binge-drinking. And it is binge-drinking that will surely increase with more relaxation of the drinking laws. There is nothing wrong with having a drink per se, of course, and it is good that there should be more flexibility in the sale of alcohol, if only for tourists coming to Britain; but do we really wish to encourage the British themselves to become a nation of boozers, 24/7?
Richard, Wales, UK

Violent crime due to alcohol is constantly increasing because the police generally don't do anything about it. Drunk thugs get away with it night after night with no consequences at all. The police really need to arrest and convict violent offenders but in my experience this simply does not happen. Changing the licensing hours will do a great amount to change the culture of binge drinking, but it is up to the police to target their efforts more effectively in order to bring down crime rates.
Rich, Hants, UK

If drinkers are currently turned out onto the streets at the same time (i.e. closing time) it is not unreasonable to assume that this mass turning-out will still occur at the later time, but with the level of drunkenness increased.
Roger Schofield, Portsmouth, England

Relaxing the laws will relax people's drinking behaviour TB, Spain

Relaxing the laws will relax people's drinking behaviour. From my experiences when living in the UK, I used to get a few pints in before the final bell to make sure I didn't go home too sober. A lot of people did the same thing. If you have a load of people downing two or three pints before they leave the pub is going to cause problems sooner or later. Let adults drink at their own pace and ugly scenes could be avoided.
TB, Spain

During the Easter Bank Holiday the pubs had extended drinking until midnight, so we decided to stay in the local pub rather than move on to a club. If we gone on and paid entry into a club, we would have felt the need to get our moneys worth and stay in there drinking until 2am. Extended drinking hours reduced our intake.
William, Derbyshire

They absolutely should be extended. Kicking everyone out at the same time is silly, especially when they've just topped up with 3 pints because time has been called. Let pubs and bars open 24 hours per day. Allow the bingers to pickle themselves into a stupor.
Colin Smith, London UK

Longer licensing hours will not have a detrimental effect of public order. Most violent crime occurs during the traditional licensed period in the evening. The law should be strengthened and directed at ensuring publicans control sales responsibly.
Ian, Bradford, UK

The licensing laws as were created a whole drinking culture to consume as much alcohol as possible within the perceived short drinking time. This is now embedded into the British psyche. A relaxation of the licensing laws will not change people's drinking habits but merely allow them more time to consume even more alcohol. We just have to look at the British tourists abroad (Faliraki, Magaluf etc) to see what is likely to happen.
Jonathan, London

I think that the modern type pub is dead. We should go back to a more family oriented establishment which is not just a European concept. Children should be educated about drink by their parents and schools so that they know enough is enough. Under the current regime the police are right. Since alcohol is a drug it should be scheduled under MDA1971 but separately from other drugs. Alcoholics should be treated once on the NHS. Any re-occurrence should be at their own cost.
Tony, Welling Kent

Stricter conditions need to be put in place for the issuing of licenses Mark, London, UK

Licensing hours should be relaxed, without a doubt. But the licensing laws need to be tightened, and stricter conditions need to be put in place for the issuing of licenses. There's little stopping cheap, nasty, lowest common denominator chains from running highly-paced, violently-charged venues. It amazes me when such places have their licenses renewed.
Mark, London, UK

Blunkett is entirely missing the point over drinking hours. People don't binge drink because the pub is due to shut - they binge drink because that's the way they enjoy getting drunk. And who in heaven's name believes that the pubs, clubs and brewers will make the slightest effort to reduce their massive and increasing profits to improve behaviour? Expect much more violence, much more crime and don't hope for a copper when you need one because they'll all be helping the brewers to make more money.
Richard, Brighton UK

I think licensing laws should be stricter with each individual who wishes to drink having to apply for a license and have each individual purchase approved by a council employee who can decide what's best for them. We're treated like children in this country for most other things, so this is simply a logical extension to guarantee that nobody can ever overdo things or enjoy themselves too much. Naturally we should also ban groups of people from meeting in pubs so they can't buy drinks for each other.
John B, UK

Most trouble and fights occur outside a pub just after it has closed. This is because everyone has been pushed out onto the same street at the same time and not everyone is happy about it. Added to which the scramble for taxi's home will be lightened considerably.
Stephen Ash, Cardiff, Wales

De-regulating bars will only serve to inflame an already dangerous and out of control situation Phil, Blackpool UK

As a resident of a town which has the largest number of licensed premises outside the Capital, my family and I do not go into the town on Friday or Saturday night, as the yobbish behaviour of the hundreds of stag & hen parties make the town an effective no-go area. This is all fuelled by drink. Initiatives have been tried by the Local Council and the Police, but all have failed. Extending the amount of time and de-regulating the Bars and Club will only serve to inflame an already dangerous and out of control situation.
Phil, Blackpool UK