a) By staggering closing times in parts of Leeds and Manchester the number of fights at taxi ranks as the night draws to a close went down.

b) Total alcohol consumption did not increase by as much as the hours indicated - rather the same amount of drinking was spread over a longer period, the end of hours scramble was reduced.

The end of the policy is a shame in three ways, IMO:

1. Local councils rarely implemented the policy on a larger scale, skewing the results. Positive areas like those I mentioned have been ignored.

2. Restricted hours leads to greater drinking at cheaper supermarket prices, to cover socialising "out of licensing hours."

3. You don't create a "cafe culture" overnight. People actually have to settle into the belief that their ability to buy alcohol is not going to be restricted before they'll change behaviour away from certain "feast or famine" activities. Policies for this kind of change require long term commitment.

4. Binge drinking in particular was a huge concern before the licensing laws changed. I'll admit that I haven't followed the evidence closely, but I haven't seen any major changes to the trend. While that means the policy hasn't been an instant success (see 3) it also suggests there needs to be an actual case made for changing back...