MANX RAISE GLASSES TO ALL-NIGHT PUBS

Doug Crellin was a happy man. With another pint of lager and a whisky
chaser in front of him the taxi-driver was celebrating his day-off in fine
style. The clock in the Albert pub was ticking towards 11, but - unlike
millions of drinkers in the rest of Britain - closing time did not worry
Crellin.

He is a Manxman and last month the Isle of Man government scrapped all
licensing hours. 'It is brilliant. It was a great idea,' Crellin said,
raising his glass and grinning.

The Isle of Man has always had a reputation for heavy drinking. Cynical
islanders often refer to it as '80,000 alcoholics clinging to a rock'. Now
they have some of the most liberal drinking laws in Europe. But the Manx
have reacted to their new drinking freedoms in a way few people expected:
with sobriety.

Instead of a drinking free-for-all, the main effect has been a fall in
drink-related disturbances. That will be a major boost to campaigners in
England and Wales who suffered a blow earlier this year when Labour failed
to deliver licensing reforms.

'It is clearly leading the way for the Government to do something [in the
UK],' said Mike Benner of the Campaign for Real Ale.

Most Manx pubs now stay open an extra hour or two and landlords have the
option to keep running as long as they want if a particularly enthusiastic
- - and profitable - clientele has gathered. 'You are not going to stay open
just for a couple of people, but if there is a big party, then you keep
going,' said Harry Kewin, landlord of the Viking pub in Castletown.

In fact, the people most pleased so far have been the police. Douglas, the
island's main town, has earned a reputation for post-pub violence in recent
years. 'We would have maybe 12 officers at weekends trying to deal with one
or two thousand people coming on to the streets,' said Inspector Gary Roberts.

Attacks on taxi drivers and fights in fast-food restaurants were worryingly
common. But now there are signs that the month-long scrapping of licensing
hours is having an effect. The varied hours mean drinkers now leave pubs at
different times, they are also drinking less quickly. Nightclubs also stay
open later, allowing hard-core party animals to stay out longer, easing the
pressure on taxis.

'The first two weekends of the new system were actually two of the quietest
weekends of the year so far and that has continued,' Roberts said.

Allan Bell, Home Affairs Minister of the Manx government, said Jersey and
Guernsey had already expressed a strong interest in following the Isle of
Man's lead. It puts the island, once famous for tenaciously clinging on to
the death sentence, birching and outlawing homosexuality, in the rare
position of being a frontrunner for social reform and far ahead of the
mainland.

'The mainland has a lot to learn from us,' Bell said. The success so far
has also been down to new police powers that allow them to shut instantly
for six hours any pub deemed too rowdy.

At the moment the Isle of Man's experiment has gone well. But even more
radical steps may follow. After elections to the island's parliament later
this year, moves may be considered to legalise cannabis for medical
purposes. 'It is just stupid to stop people using cannabis when they are
ill and in pain and it can help them medically,' Bell said.

Some believe that could open the way to legalise cannabis as a recreational
drug. 'It certainly might be something to consider,' said one senior Manx
government source.