Astor the Fairy Godmother: The Intoxicating Liquor Act 1923

Abstract

Before 1923, a teenager could go into a pub at the age of 14 to buy and drink beer; aged 16, he or she could also buy spirits. The Intoxicating Liquor (Sale to Persons Under Eighteen) Act 1923 introduced the principle that people should be aged 18 to drink alcohol in bars, a situation which still exists today. The Act was the first successful private members’ bill from a woman MP, Nancy Astor. Although well-known as a temperance advocate, Astor’s role in this Bill is frequently underplayed, with her husband Waldorf often credited at her expense, and the significance of Parliamentary process not well understood. This paper will examine the background to Astor’s Bill, which emerged from ongoing wartime liquor restrictions, a changing discourse over alcohol and public health after the First World War, and a petition signed by 116,000 teachers. It will analyse the Parliamentary passage of the Bill in the face of die-hard opposition from many of Astor’s fellow Conservative MPs. Although amendments made in committee reduced the impact, this should not detract from Astor’s considerable success in the House of Commons. Astor’s Bill should be better recognised for its long-lasting impact on British society, as a success for temperance campaigners, and as one of the great achievements of Astor’s Parliamentary career. Astor’s Bill was also opposed by Edwin Scrymgeour, Britain’s only Prohibitionist MP, and the paper will consider how his extreme version of alcohol control assisted Astor’s more moderate approach.