The Last of England

The past three months have seen a deluge of policy proposals being floated that, either directly or indirectly, would be damaging to the pub trade. While it’s likely that most of these ideas will never be implemented, some of them will be, and the desired direction of travel is all too clear.

There is a well-known quotation from Hilaire Belloc, reproduced in the sidebar of this blog, that: “When you have lost your inns, drown your empty selves, for you will have lost the last of England.” This has prompted this particularly apposite and poignant article from Madeline Grant entitled When the last pub calls last orders it will be the last of England. I don’t propose to reproduce it in full (although I can send you the text if you send me an e-mail), but this excerpt is especially relevant.

Yet even here there is a melancholy sense to the average pub that has lingered since Covid. A pincer movement of cultural changes – the death of lunchtime drinking, the rise of clean living – now coupled with a government of an obvious puritanical bent, has created a perfect storm for pub owners.

Courtesy of the Government and their like-minded pals in public health we have heard pitches for two-thirds-sized pints and shorter pub opening hours – all within the last week. Rachel Reeves is reportedly considering an alcohol duty hike to plug the famed £22 billion “black hole”. Before that proposed smoking bans in beer gardens prompted ire from landlords…

…Indeed, Sir Keir and his acolytes seem unable to grasp why anyone would frequent a pub at all, ignoring their important social purpose. People come there to gossip and to moan, to make jokes and let loose, for conviviality and companionship. None of those are things the Starmers and the Gwynnes of this world can understand.

Undoubtedly many government policies, in particular the smoking ban, have damaged the pub trade, but the reality is that it has been undone by long-term social change. Pubgoing was never a specific destination social event, it was a habit that was woven into the fabric of everyday life. As I wrote last year:

In the past, a lot of drinking in pubs was centred around ritual and routine, often linked to the workplace. But all those Friday lunchtime drinks with the office team, after-work unwinders, Sunday lunchtime sessions and “I always go out with Bill and Frank for a few on Friday night” are now much diminished if not virtually extinct. If you’re no longer going to the pub out of habit, but have to make a positive choice to do so, you may well decide not to bother.

Added to this, there has been a growing trend to stigmatise even the moderate consumption of alcohol in social settings, which inevitably reduces the range of occasions on which people will consider a visit to the pub.

Some commentators may make the point that specific pubs are thriving, but that doesn’t mean that they can be taken as an example for others to follow. Within an overall declining market, the effect will not be even across the board, and it’s entirely possible that some venues that happen to be particularly well-located, or that cater for a specific niche, will continue to do well.

Many pubs have turned to food to keep alive, and indeed food has always been an integral part of the pub scene. However, there comes a point where it becomes so dominant that the pub has ceased to fulfil its original function and has become to all intents and purposes a restaurant.

Some industry representatives are keen to point the finger of blame at the rise of the off-trade, but in reality that is just the other side of the coin of the social changes that have led to the decline of pubs. Any moves to impose further curbs on the off-trade are unlikely to bring a single extra customer back into pubs. Both camps should realise they have a common interest in opposing anti-alcohol Puritanism.

It’s probably apocalyptic to talk of pubs completely disappearing by 2084. There will remain some demand for them. But it is clear that the tide is currently running strongly against them, and any moves by the government to impose new restrictions on them are only going to accelerate this trend.