Save Your Local Pub
Thirty-nine pubs were closing in Britain every week when the industry launched a campaign to put the local back on the political agenda.
Editor’s note. This article dates from early 2010. Communities can now protect a pub by listing it as an Asset of Community Value; see how to save a local pub.
Photo: Tim Sheerman-Chase via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Thirty-nine pubs close in Britain every week, according to the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA). A new campaign aims to slow this trend. Back the Pub wants politicians to recognise the vital role pubs play in local life, and the BBPA, the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) and other industry bodies are behind it.
Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the BBPA, said: "Pubs are at the heart of our community and make a significant contribution to our economy. It's time for Government to work with our industry and put into practice policies that support pubs and local communities."
What the campaign wants
- reduced tax and regulation on beer and pubs
- the promotion of the pub as an essential part of local life
- the involvement of the pub and beer industry in initiatives to encourage responsible drinking
The campaign demands a freeze on beer duty in the next budget, claiming this alone would save 7,500 jobs in the next 12 months, and argues that beer should be in a lower tax bracket because of its lower alcohol content.
SIBA chief executive Julian Grocock said: "Our national drink (beer) is a particularly British product using home-grown ingredients and employing thousands of people across the country. Its relatively low strength reinforces its role in making the British pub a socially valuable institution which deserves widespread support."
Pub facts from the BBPA
- Over 80% of pubs are small businesses.
- The average pub spends over £70,000 a year on locally sourced goods and services.
- 600,000 people rely on the UK's 54,000 pubs for employment.
- The three most common pub names in Britain are the Red Lion, the Royal Oak and the White Hart.
Following the failed "Axe the Tax" campaign, the organisers hoped to use the approaching general election to their advantage, asking the public to press every parliamentary candidate to sign up to the manifesto. The campaign also welcomed the appointment of the UK's first minister for pubs, who was to lead a strategy to reduce the number of closures.
