I love watching football and I love drinking beer. I sometimes enjoy both together, and as far as I’m aware, neither of those delightful pastimes are illegal. I’m not alone, millions of hard-working, tax paying, law abiding Brits share my passions.
Last weekend, Newcastle United Football Club won their first domestic trophy in many decades, by beating Liverpool at Wembley. What a day those Geordie supporters must have had, as their beloved team, who were very much second favourites to lift the trophy, prevailed at the home of world football. I would imagine that hundreds, if not thousands of their fans were looking forward to a few beers, or maybe a couple of glasses of wine on the long train journey back to their magnificent city, where I’m sure that those who were not fortunate enough to have got a ticket for the game, were partying hard, very hard indeed.
Under Labour we are left with less of a Nanny State and more of a Bully State - Peter Bleksley
GB News/Getty Images
But no, in their moment of what for many would be a once-in-a-lifetime celebration, British Transport Police had other ideas. BTP, as they are otherwise known, are yet another one of our abysmal police services who have long-since forgotten the quote of Sir Robert Peel, the founder of modern policing, who said, ‘The police are the public, and the public are the police.’ If BTP had even the loosest grip of this vitally important policing concept, then they would have deployed officers onto the trains ferrying very happy people back to the north-east, with a brief to smile, engage, and to maintain order for the benefit of all travellers with humour and charm, but instead, in a move so disconnected from the wishes of fans, they imposed a blanket alcohol ban on all trains leaving Kings Cross Station from 7.30pm onwards that evening. This was a tactic that the 1970s East German Stasi would have been proud of.
Let me give you a window into the soul of BTP who call themselves ‘The Guardians of the Railway’; Their website spouts this kind of word salad drivel, ‘Building a modern and inclusive workforce is a long-term commitment, not transient emotion or short-term reaction.’ With the ability to conjure up such meaningless claptrap, I think they should rename themselves as, ‘Guardian readers of the Railways.’ Talking of that soon-to-be-extinct Marxist rag, I’m sure our lamentable Prime Minister has a subscription to it so that he can devour their non-sensical tripe on a daily basis.
BTP imposed a blanket alcohol ban on trains leaving King's Cross Station from 7:30pm onwards after Newcastle's cup final victory.
Getty Images
And what intolerant garbage they attempt to brainwash their lentil-munching, sandal wearing, glue-themselves-to-the-road type readership with. Ludicrous articles in it this week were urging the Chancellor to raise yet more taxes, and the tone was so obsessive that you’d be shot down in flames should you challenge their daft view. And that is the problem with the left, they are a notoriously intolerant and irritable, humourless lot. Their word is gospel, like it or lump it. I wouldn’t mind if their views were widely held, but they’re not. Labour only got elected to power because the previous abysmal tory government simply had to go, not because Starmer was seen as a messiah, and not because people avidly bought into their manifesto policies, so many of which have been abandoned anyway.
And what we are now left with is less of a Nanny State, more of a Bully State, and our police services are rapidly becoming the enforcers for it, with their clampdowns on all manner of things, including football fans who just want to harmlessly enjoy themselves.
BTP have an oft-trailed strap line, which I’ve altered for them because my version more accurately represents the truth; ‘See it, Say it, Spoil it’.
