Supermarket chain Tesco says it wants to see curbs on the sale of cheap alcohol during this Parliament.

Tesco has welcomed a promise by the coalition government to ban below-cost sales of alcohol in England and Wales.

The UK's biggest retailer goes further, saying it would back the more radical step of introducing a minimum price.

Tesco says polling for the company found excessive drinking and the anti-social behaviour it causes is one of the public's most serious concerns.

Significant discounts

The idea of a minimum price is already being considered by the Scottish Parliament.

During the World Cup, most retailers - including Tesco - are expected to offer significant discounts on alcohol.

In an exclusive BBC interview, Lucy Neville-Rolfe, Tesco's director for corporate affairs, says in the absence of government action they have to compete on price.

"As a result there is lots of cheap alcohol, so we thought let's ask the government to look at should there be a minimum price for alcohol, or should there be a ban on low-cost selling.

"Could it be justified because it will deal with the problem at the lower end?"

The coalition government has said it will ban the sale of alcohol below cost price.

Cultural issue

It is not clear how that would be done as retailers would be reluctant to reveal commercially sensitive details of deals with suppliers.

One option might be to set a nominal price for each type of alcohol, then add the cost of VAT and duty to reach a total.

It is an option which falls short of the minimum price which the British Medical Association and many other health charities and doctors' organisations have been championing.

Even the proposals for a ban on below-cost sales and a review of price and taxation have been attacked by other retailers.


The fact is that a lot of people drink to get drunk, and therefore if you make alcohol more available and cheaper it fuels that problem
Peter Fahy
Greater Manchester Police

Andrew Opie, from the British Retail Consortium, said: "Irresponsible alcohol consumption is not about price, it's a cultural issue. Below-cost selling is simply not the widespread practice portrayed."

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Peter Fahy agreed that there was a British culture of excessive drinking that was encouraged by low prices.

"Culture is created by things like the price and we do have a culture in this country of people drinking to excess," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"The fact is that a lot of people drink to get drunk, and therefore if you make alcohol more available and cheaper it fuels that problem."

He said he was very pleased that the price of alcohol was being addressed because of the "huge impact" it has "on both the police service and the health service".

Mr Fahy also said there was a strong link between domestic violence and people drinking excessively at home.

'Big voice'

In Scotland a bill that would introduce minimum pricing per unit of alcohol is going through the Holyrood parliament and will face crucial votes later this year.

Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon welcomed Tesco's change of heart on the issue.

"Tesco is a big voice and will make a difference. What's particularly encouraging is that Tesco are saying they're making this shift in position as a result of the views of their customers - because I think there is a sea change under way in public opinion.

"People increasingly understand the damage that alcohol misuse is doing."

Alcohol policy is a particularly challenging area for the Liberal Democrats.

In the run-up to the Westminster elections they backed the idea of minimum pricing, but in Scotland they have so far not declared their hand.

Lib Dem votes would effectively decide whether the minority SNP administration could get the measure through to become the first country in the world to have a minimum price per unit of alcohol.

What the betting if they ban "sales below cost price", the supermarkets will demand that the manufacturers lower the cost price or they'll stop selling their product. It wouldn't be the first time they've used bullying tactics like that. Many companies can't afford to lose big supermarket contracts.