Local and National Policy Making for Alcohol: Nottingham, UK, 1950–2007

In the early 2000s, the press labelled Nottingham as “Binge Capital of Britain.” This study uses the prominence of Nottingham in national discussion about “binge drinking” as a starting point for an exploration of the local dimension of drink from the period of the 1950s to the early twenty-first century. In 1960s Nottingham the problem of “drink” was defined as one of vagrancy and homelessness. The idea continued to inform local policy in the 1970s, a time when national discussion was moving towards a public health population approach. In the 1980s alcohol retained its importance locally even when government funds were diverted to the problems of HIV and drugs misuse. By the 1990s drugs as well as drink became of pressing local concern, and led to efforts to remove drinkers, addicts and beggars from the streets. At the same time “youth” emerged as the focus of attention. In the 2000s, a new problem of binge drinking developed as a problem of youth and public disorder. The study reveals that national and local definitions of the problem were often divergent and suggests that an emphasis on the processes of national policy making can neglect the important role of local definitions of “problems,” and their persistence over time despite national policy change