The Newshound

MPs and health leaders urge Yvette Cooper to impose minimum alcohol pricing in England, warning delivery apps are 'fuelling' harm

Yvette Cooper, pictured in August, faces calls to act as Scotland and Wales, which introduced minimum unit pricing in 2018 and 2020 respectively, have given England clear evidence of what works.
Yvette Cooper, pictured in August, faces calls to act as Scotland and Wales, which introduced minimum unit pricing in 2018 and 2020 respectively, have given England clear evidence of what works.

A letter signed by 55 MPs, health leaders and charities has been sent to Health Secretary Yvette Cooper demanding minimum unit pricing (MUP) be introduced in England, warning that rapid delivery apps are putting cheap, high-strength alcohol on doorsteps within minutes. Alcohol harm costs an estimated £4.9bn to the NHS annually, and Professor Sir Ian Gilmore warned England risks becoming "the UK's alcohol harm outlier" as its neighbours act.

Labour MP Cat Smith, who co-signed the letter, warned: 'The human and economic costs are now far too high to ignore.'

Scotland introduced MUP in 2018 and Wales in 2020; both saw high-strength cheap products removed from sale, giving England clear evidence of what works.

Former SNP justice secretary Kenny MacAskill is pushing for a levy on supermarket MUP profits — estimated at £65m a year in Scotland — to fund alcohol addiction services.

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