5p for plastic bags - what a load of rubbish

In the latest round of policies designed to beat us all about the head, and make us change our behaviour, whether we like it or not, I see that plastic carrier bags are once again the target.
Clearly the efforts of supermarkets to charge us all through the nose to buy 'bags for life', and then tout them around town, effectively providing them with free advertising, have not been as effective as intended.
I do not use supermarkets if I can avoid them, but then I don't have a large hungry family to feed, or to wash or clean for. Unless I've got friends staying, I doubt that I shop more than once a week, and then usually just for a pint of milk to satisfy my craving for that early morning cuppa.
However, the sad demise of our local shops continues. Supermarkets are now more determined than ever to encroach on that last bastion of private ownership, with their town centre 'mini markets' and 'express' stores. It would seem that we may now well be paying 5p a time for the privilege of having a bag in which to carry away their goods.
What the 5p is for I've yet to determine. Is it to pay towards the cost of handling the discarded bags as they litter the countryside, or in an effort to dissuade us from using them altogether? Either way, the climate change brigade, as well meaning as they may be, have got it all wrong, again.
The nonsense being espoused about the supposed cuts in carbon emissions could quite easily be solved; by doing more to ensure that as responsible citizens we do not litter. I am constantly appalled by the flagrant way that my fellow citizens litter our streets with gay abandon. That's where we should be putting our energy and money, not paying to clear up after them.
We've all done it. On entering the supermarket for our daily paper and the odd loaf of bread or packet of sugar, which they artfully place towards the rear of the store, we are forced to pass all of their tempting discounted offers and BOGOF offers along the way. Eventually we arrive at the checkout, where we are then required to check ourselves out (I refuse), thereby saving the supermarket money, only to find that as a result of responding to those impulse buys we couldn't resist, we need .... another bag or two to pack them in. So not only have we spent more money than we had intended, but are to be penalised even further.
Not once, in all the years that we have been battling away to reduce landfill, have I seen anything other than token evidence of supermarkets being required to engage in a meaningful way to reduce the amount of unwanted packaging that is produced. They are the driving force here in terms of how their products are presented to us. It is no longer possible, in many cases, to buy just one apple, one baking potato or one banana. We are being coerced into buying more than we need, and it seems to me to be grossly unfair that once again, whilst we line their pockets, we are required to pay the consequences and stump up for their advertising as well.
Fortunately I shan't have to suffer; I've been saving and collecting my used plastic bags for years, and should have enough to see me through my lifetime. A small, but sweet, revenge.