Why are Pubs Closing at a Prodigious Rate?
Some Pub Closure Stats and Stories.
The news has been telling us that pubs are closing all over the UK, in town centres, in the suburbs and in the countryside. A Google search on “why are pubs shutting?” gives us no end of stories and reasons.
The BBC tells us that pubs are shutting in East London because the population that lives there is now mainly Muslim and alcohol is not their thing.
The Mirror tells us that 29 pubs are shutting each week and that London and the South East are the hardest hit.
The Telegraph has the following headlines:
- 21-Feb-2008 Two village pubs closing every day, new figures show
- 30 Apr 2012 A dozen pubs close each week
- 31 Aug 2015 Is the demise of the British pub inevitable?
It seems the story has been the same for at least 7 years – plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose for the French speaking amongst us!
The reasons claimed are legion. Some examples are:
- The smoking ban
- The tax on beer
- New drink drive limits in Scotland
- Alex McLintock in The Guardian suggests it is because the pubs are terrible
- The rise of the minimum wage
Personally I believe that the 4th in the list is the real reason that pubs close. Although, if you read the article, the author’s suggestion that we should move all pubs to the beach and make them all Australian, is probably an unlikely cure!
