Tag Archives: sugar

Supporting the sugar tax was a mistake

By Eddie from Edinburgh | Tue 7th June 2016 - 11:59 am

In a new report the Taxpayer’s Alliance (TPA) described the Government’s planned sugar tax as “regressive”, saying it will “hit the poorest families hardest”. The new tax, announced by the Chancellor in his 2016 budget, will be levied on the soft drinks industry with the intention of reducing obesity.

Liberal Democrat support for a sugar tax began in 2012 when Autumn conference recommended consulting on “taxation of heavily sugared drinks”. Tom Brake MP wrote in the IB Times this year commending George Osborne’s “bravery” in introducing the levy. The Scottish Liberal Democrats’ 2016 manifesto committed to use funds raised by the sugar tax to encourage sports participation.

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Posted in Op-eds | 35 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Do you agree with Floella Benjamin on mandatory sugar reduction targets?

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 13th January 2016 - 9:39 pm

Here’s a bit of controversy to liven up a Wednesday evening.

Floella Benjamin has written for Politics Home’s Central Lobby arguing in favour of mandatory sugar reduction targets. It’s another of these issues that you can use liberal principles to argue both for and against:

Many overweight children grow up to be obese adults and there are often serious health consequences for those affected, leading to tremendous pressures on the NHS, through the dramatic rise in type 2 diabetes, heart problems, some cancers and a wide variety of other conditions that require treatment. High sugar consumption is resulting in early tooth decay and is by far the highest cause of hospital admissions amongst 5-to 9-year-olds.

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | 45 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: Nick Clegg: My family are up in arms over ham but I’m raging over sugar

By NewsHound | Sat 14th November 2015 - 10:25 am

Nick Clegg’s been on a bit of a journey on his views about sugar consumption. In an article for the Evening Standard last week, he outlined the dangers of consuming too much hidden sugar and said that he now favoured strong action to reduce our sugar consumption:

Now, finally, we are beginning to have a proper debate about what we can and should do about it. A recent report by Public Health England proposed a number of measures, as has the ever- compelling Jamie Oliver.

Reducing two-for-one deals, clamping down on advertising targeted at children, reining in the marketing of high-sugar food and drinks, reducing sugar content and portion sizes, and introducing a tax on sugary drinks and food have all been called for.

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Posted in LibLink | Also tagged , and | 15 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Neil Sandison
    This one of a series of articles recently published in the Liberal Democrat Voice that defines our social liberal values . Frequently the hot house of Westminst...
  • Pawel Urbanski
    This is the right problem to be working on, and I think the answer may be less about the words than about the moments. In my experience people learn what we sta...
  • Simon Robinson
    It's good to have an MP putting herself forward for this. The manifesto seems a bit vague though. All good thoughts and nothing you can really disagree with, b...
  • Robin Bennett
    I am sure Alan will have the sympathies of all of us. The situation is sad and frustrating. Forgive me for making one small point, Alan: you said that 40 Ho...
  • Jonathan Brown
    @George - me too. I know that not everyone is happy about this, but it's perfectly reasonable policy and I think all care is being taken to try to reassure thos...