Don’t like banging your head against that brick wall? Why not try banging it even harder?
The BBC reports that the Metropolitan Police have backed a campaign to have the drinking age in Hampstead raised to 21. Their article (in their slightly frothy magazine section) quotes “psychologist Colin Drummond” in support of a general move in that direction, and reasonable noises from Alcohol Concern and the Portman Group in opposition. The reason – having the limit at 18 isn't preventing people under 18 from drinking.
Leave aside for a moment the fact that this ban has absolutely no chance of ever being enacted (18 year olds can vote, after all), and it’s a lovely case study of how failing legislation can be pushed into failing harder by people who can’t think outside the box.
Incidentally, I used to live near Hampstead, and something tells me that any ban is probably related more to the socio-economic group of its inhabitants rather than its non-existent status as party capital of North London.