Gordon Brown has said that he might reverse the Government's policy on 24-hour drinking and the classification of cannabis, depending on the results of reviews.
Speaking at his first Labour Party Conference as Prime Minister he said he "would not hesitate" to change the policy on 24-hour pub opening if a review of the law finds that it encouraged drunkenness and crime. The review report is due by the end of the year.
According to the Daily Mail, serious crime around pubs and clubs has risen by almost 130% since the new licensing laws were introduced. The number of people hospitalised with drink-related injuries has doubled under Labour.
Gordon Brown also promised to send out "a clear message that drugs are never going to be decriminalised". This coincided significantly with Jack Straw's comments to Channel Four News, acknowledging that the reclassification of cannabis from class B to class C was a mistake.
In comments made prior to his conference speech, the Prime Minister said, "Where there are things that are wrong and where mistakes have been made, we will look at these things, and we will change these things. That's why on casinos we are looking again, on cannabis we are looking again and that's why on 24-hour drinking we are looking again."
However, the Prime Minister also paid tribute to Harriet Harman's campaign for equality, calling for no discrimination on the basis of "sexuality". The Government is currently reviewing all strands of UK discrimination law with a view to streamlining them into one Single Equality Bill. Concerns have been expressed about the implications for religious liberty.
