Latest news with #Euro-style
Daily Mail
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Bridget looked likely to smash a pint glass in the nearest Hooray Henry's face
Here on the far side of the moon, where different obsessions grip, MPs gathered late in the day to discuss the Supreme Court 's revolutionary decision: that a woman is a woman. There was shock. Anger. There were v. nearly tears. Sarah Owen (Lab, Luton N) complained that the court's ruling 'was made without a single contribution from trans people'. Ms Owen seemed to be implying that no member of the Supreme Court had swapped genders. Given those unisex Euro-style robes they wear, can she be sure? What a palaver ensued. Where were trans people going to go to the loo? Or serve prison sentences? How were sporting bodies going to react? In vain did the House turn to Bridget Phillipson for answers. Ms Phillipson, minister for equalities, ground her jaw and spoke darkly about 'toilet facilities'. Lacking much else to say, she blamed the Tories for 'playing politics'. Scary Bridget was smouldering. Almost levitating with crossness. This jagged class-warrior, for whom all Righties (and, it sometimes seems, plenty of men) are curs, spat out her insistence that everyone deserved to be treated with 'dignity and respect'. She must have said that phrase 20 times. Each time she looked more likely to smash a pint glass on the bar top and grind it in the nearest Hooray Henry's face. Labour MPs, normally so reverent towards the Supreme Court, boiled and stewed and simmered and steamed. It was like being in a chop suey kitchen. These Labour loyalists, who for years had played the identity-politics game with such grim determination, now sat with their arms crossed, cheeks pinkening. Conservatives, meanwhile, were cock-a-hoop, if one can use that expression. The Tories were so waggy-tailed that their leader, Kemi Badenoch, broke custom and led the Opposition's response to this non-prime ministerial statement. She had even put on some red shoes for the occasion. Mrs B was so excited that she thanked Ms Phillipson 'for advance sight of his statement'. Oops. The jargon – cis men, trans men, trans women – made your eyeballs throb. Your sketch writer tried to follow but did not always succeed. Clive Betts (Sheffield South East) mumbled to himself and I felt a sudden kinship with the old booby. Sarah Dyke (Lib Dem, Glastonbury & Somerton) said 'many people are feeling confused'. That was one way of putting it. Words tumbled out of Mrs Badenoch as she recalled the ordure that was long thrown at her for questioning trans orthodoxies. Labour MPs hated hearing this but for once – with the exception of a finger-jabbing Emma Foody (Cramlington & Killingworth) – they did not try to drown out her words with derisive bellowing. While Mrs B was speaking the right heel of Dame Emily Thornberry (Lab, Islington South) rotated at food-mixer speed. Blair McDougall (Lab, East Renfrewshire) gazed uneasily at the ceiling. Gareth Snell (Lab, Stoke Central) stretched his leg to show us three inches of ivory shin as he twiddled with his lanyard. And no, that isn't a euphemism. Nadia Whittome (Lab, Nottingham East) and Zarah Sultana (Ind, Coventry South), quavered with emotion as they deplored the damage to trans rights. Emily Darlington (Lab, Milton Keynes Central) was so indignant at Conservative merriment that she stalled mid-contribution, gasping. She was enraged that people were heckling her. It was a tiny fraction of what Mrs Badenoch has to endure most Wednesdays. Earlier that prize switcher Sir Keir Starmer said he no longer believed blokes with whatnots could be women. Make your mind up, sunshine. Sir Keir, a lawyer, perhaps only believes things when he hears them from Supreme Court beaks. Or had Morgan McSweeney, his chief of staff, given the PM a lecture on the facts of life? My late father, a schoolmaster, used to have to do that to 13-year-old boys who were about to leave his school. Sometimes they laughed. Sometimes they said, 'Oh come off it, sir, that's dis-GUSTING!' Which, basically, was the reaction of Labour to this judgment.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Beer gardens optional? New booze law sets stage for World Cup street sipping
This story was originally published on Raise your glasses, Washington: the beer garden isn't dead—it's just evolving. Temporarily. The Washington State Senate gave final approval to House Bill 1515 on Wednesday, voting 37–12 in favor of a 'modernization' of alcohol service in public spaces. It means your favorite street festivals, concerts, and civic events might start to feel a little more like New Orleans or a lively European plaza—fewer fenced-off beer pens, more stroll-friendly sips. No, it doesn't eliminate roped-off beer gardens entirely, but it does give local governments the power to allow broader outdoor drinking zones, shared service areas between businesses, and even campus-wide booze zones at public places like Seattle Center. The beer garden just got a glow-up. And the timing? Conveniently synced with Seattle's moment in the global spotlight: hosting games for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Coincidence? Not a chance. The bill's expanded alcohol privileges are temporary, running only through December 31, 2027. That gives cities and event organizers a trial window to test looser, more flexible alcohol service setups—before the party officially ends. Cities, towns, counties, and even ports can now apply to the state's Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) to allow alcohol in outdoor public areas—places where drinking is usually off-limits unless you're fenced in like a zoo animal. Now, those fences could come down, or be swapped out for less rigid barriers or simple ground markings. Even bigger deal: the bill allows multiple bars, breweries, and restaurants to share a single alcohol service area, whether that's a street, park, or civic plaza. That means you could stroll through a designated festival zone, drink in hand, without being corralled into a tiny corner. Local governments are still on the hook for essentials like police patrols, litter control, and signage. And businesses must follow joint operating plans, including rules for security, service limits, and underage drinking prevention. So no — this isn't some Mad Max booze free-for-all. But it is a major shift. Beer gardens aren't going away. This bill just makes them optional instead of mandatory. Want to stick with the old fenced-in model? Go for it. Want to channel a Euro-style plaza vibe? Now you can—at least until the end of 2027. The bill specifically gives cities with populations over 220,000 the option to use public property like parks, fairgrounds, or Seattle Center, and their perimeters for a legal drinking zone. That includes Seattle, Spokane, and Tacoma. Sorry, Vancouver—with 196,000 residents, you're not on the VIP list. Seattle is set to host multiple World Cup matches in June and July of 2026. The legislation even carves out expanded alcohol rules for 'fan zones' and civic campuses, clearly with mega-sporting events in mind. Cities can apply for up to 25 special events a year under the new rules, with up to seven of them allowed to be multi-day events (hello, World Cup week!). And just to keep things fair, caterers and nonprofits can still serve alcohol at public events under special licenses, without those events counting against their existing 12-per-year limit. The bill is now on its way to the Governor's desk. He just has to decide if it's worthy of his signature—and maybe a toast.
