Is England losing part of its culture as pubs are closing?

Within the first 6 months of 2023, over 300 pubs closed across the UK, showcasing a clear decline in what was once a staple industry of the country. According to Statista there were 46, 800 pubs in the UK in 2020. That number has now fallen to 31,537 (ibisworld.com). Such a steep decline in numbers has caused concerns that there may not be many pubs left by the end of the decade.

Source: Statista

Asking the owner of local pub, The Stag, Paul Curtis why he believed the pubs were closing he had this to say: “They are closing for numerous reasons. The breweries are charging too much money for the beer that they supply. They’re making the tenants work too long hours. People have got less disposable income”.

In late October, Chancellor Rachel Reeves decided to cut the duty on draught alcohol in an effort to preserve the UK’s struggling pubs and bars and provide them some reliefs to maintain their presence locally. However, this announcement was followed with the news that all ‘non-draught products’ will face increased alcohol-duty rates in line with the Retail Price Index from February 2025.

This followed the Finance (No. 2) Act 2023 which sought to increase the alcohol-duty rates on alcoholic beverages depending on their potency/volume of alcohol. This led to the first time an average drink such as beer saw a price increase since 2017. It is hoped that these moves will increase the revenue generated from alcohol duty from £12.6 billion in 2023/24, to £16.1 billion by 2028/29.

Speaking with a frequenter of The Stag, he said “This man (Paul Curtis) is the nicest man you’ll ever meet…this is like my home away from home”.

Pint of Inch’s Cider

In an interview with DrinksRetailingNews, the national president of the Federation of Independent Retailers, Mo Razzaq spoke about the impact these changes would have on independent or smaller bar owners. “As responsible employers we want to ensure we are paying a fair wage to our staff. But a bigger than expected rise to the national living wage to £12.21 an hour from April 2025 is a step too far for hard-pressed small businesses.”

Alongside these price hikes, the government are considering extending the ban of smoking inside a pub towards the outside areas such as pub gardens and patios. This would be in the same ban list as universities, child play areas and smaller parks and may even include vaping. However, these changes would only affect England and would only be recommended to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

However, whilst pub owners and people in the alcohol industry oppose these bans, health professionals are happy to see such changes. Dr Layla McCay, the director of policy at the NHS Confederation BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It (smoking) is absolutely the health challenge of our time. It’s the leading cause of preventable illness in the UK, so we are heartened to see that progress is being made and that the intention is moving forward to really address one of Britain’s main drivers of health inequalities.”

Written by Joseph Banks