NHS DECLINE LEAVES TOM UTLEY APAThetic TO RESCUE EFFORTS; PUB SECTOR SAFEGUARDING DESIRABLE FOR MENTAL WELLBEING
In recent times, the traditional British pub has become a casualty of financial and economic pressures, with an alarming rate of closures threatening the viability of the sector and causing significant job losses.
The National Health Service (NHS) is not the only institution facing scandals, as the pub industry grapples with tales of job-destroying and growth-crushing policies. The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has urged the government for urgent reforms, citing high taxes and business rates as a key driver of pub closures. The taxes and business rates consume approximately 25% of all customer spending in pubs, making them a significant burden on the industry.
The rising staffing costs, such as the National Minimum Wage and National Insurance contributions, have also placed substantial pressure on pub profitability. Publicans are concerned that these cost hikes make many pubs financially unviable. The sector continues to struggle with the economic fallout and changing consumer behavior following Covid-19, with many customers remaining cautious, limiting eating and drinking out.
Over several years, there has been a steady decline in pub visits as habits change, accelerating closures. Between 2020 and 2024, over 2,000 pubs have closed, despite pubs traditionally being community hubs. The predicted closure of nearly 380 pubs in 2025 alone is expected to cause over 5,600 direct job losses—a roughly 10% increase compared to the previous year’s closures. UKHospitality has highlighted that since the last Budget, 69,000 hospitality jobs have been lost, underscoring the wider employment challenges facing the sector.
The government's policies, such as raising the minimum wage to a level that pub landlords can't afford, have been criticised for intentionally destroying jobs and damaging a cherished British institution. The closure of pubs will add thousands more to the toll of 69,000 jobs in hospitality that have already disappeared since Rachel Reeves's Budget in 2020.
The average price of a pint in the UK has risen by 21p since last year, despite a 1p cut in alcohol duty on draught beer. This increase, coupled with the financial pressures, has led to a vicious cycle of rising prices and decreasing patronage. Every day this year, 378 more pubs in Great Britain are predicted to close, bringing the total number remaining open to its lowest in over a century.
Pubs have been more than just places to drink; they have been the hubs of communities, forums of laughter, gossip, and common sense, and blessed refuges from the strains and irritations of an increasingly crazy world. The loss of these institutions could leave a void in many communities, impacting not just the economy but also the social fabric of Britain.
As the government considers banning smoking in pub beer gardens and on pavements, and proposes an anti-banter clause in a Bill to increase workers' rights, industry groups call for urgent government intervention to reform business rates and reduce tax burdens to protect jobs and the cultural role of pubs. The future of the British pub, a symbol of the nation's history and community spirit, hangs in the balance.
[1] British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) [2] UKHospitality [3] Office for National Statistics (ONS) [4] Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR)
- The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) expressed concern that the high taxes and business rates, which consume about 25% of all customer spending in pubs, are significantly burdening the industry and contributing to the closure of pubs, affecting not only the economy but also the social fabric of Britain.
- As the government considers implementing measures such as banning smoking in pub beer gardens and on pavements, and proposing an anti-banter clause in a Bill to increase workers' rights, UKHospitality joins the BBPA in calling for urgent government intervention to reform business rates and reduce tax burdens to protect jobs and the cultural role of pubs, as these institutions have been the hubs of communities, forums of laughter, gossip, and common sense, and blessed refuges from the strains and irritations of an increasingly crazy world.
