Poor Pub-Licity

The Pub is the cornerstone of British Society.  Coffee houses are all well and good, but, when was the last time you went to a good leaving do in a Costa Coffee? asks John McNamara

I think it is about time the licensing industry took a positive look at itself. The importance and impact we have on British life is always underestimated, and never more so than at the moment.

The popular tabloid press seems to have adopted the licensing industry as its punching bag for the cultural problems facing the UK right now. I am forever astounded at how such misrepresentation of a massive industry can happen. According to the media, UK town centres are on the brink of night-time anarchy with binge-drinking fuelled violence only set to increase with 24-hour opening. 24-hour opening? It studiously ignores the fact that the majority of pubs and bars want to extend their licenses by a few extra hours to continue to serve their customers. No pub could economically sustain 24-hour opening, nor do they want to try.

I think that it is sometimes forgotten that there are pubs anywhere else but town centres. Pubs in isolated rural areas are the backbone of the community. Women’s Institutes meet in them; they contain the local post office and, if some researchers are to be believed, contribute to a happy and cohesive community. VisitBritain has found in surveys with foreign tourists that the traditional British pub is high on the list of attractions. You just have to go to towns like Stratford upon Avon to witness this. American friends always want to have a pub ploughman’s and good pint of real ale when visiting.

I recently read a quote from a book on British pubs. “By all means visit Stonehenge and Buckingham Palace, but if you want to see what real life in Britain is all about, you have to go to the pub. Pubgoing is by far the most popular native pastime. The pub is a central part of British life and culture. If you haven’t been to a pub, you haven’t seen Britain,” says Kate Fox in Passport to the Pub: A guide to British pub etiquette.

The British pub is unique. People talk, eat, drink, meet friends, new and old, and relax there. Pubs have their own customs and vocabulary. I have travelled across the world and believe there is nothing like our public houses. There are hundreds of websites dedicated to the British pub. Go to any expat area from Florida to Croatia and you will find a British pub. Many of us find it hard to travel abroad without checking that this safety net exists, even if we don’t actually go to it.

The BII (British Institute of Inkeeping), the professional body for the licensed retail sector, has been working hard over the last 24 years to increase the professionalism of the industry and the depth of social responsibility to ensure that the British pub remains an asset to our country. This has been a success and it frustrates me when I see the battering the industry is taking at the moment.

Responsible licensees work closely with their local authorities, the police and the public to ensure that a pleasant and safe night-time environment is maintained. Street-corner strategies to combat social disorder are the way forward and schemes such as Pubwatch have been proven to work. How will heavy-handed policies such as Alcohol Disorder Zones (ADZs) really achieve a pleasant night-time experience? It seems to me that they will, in fact, have bee-line for these areas as they guarantee a rumble and the millions of responsible drinkers across the UK will go elsewhere, thus creating a ghetto that no one wants to work in or live in, let alone visit.

Critics might do better to look at the facts about the industry. The hospitality business employs over 90,000 people, contributes 10% of the country’s GDP and gives £22 billion in tax every year. Recent statistics say that one in five new jobs created are in the hospitality industry. These facts relate to direct economic contribution, but what of other benefits?

The pub is the cornerstone of British society. Coffee houses are all well and good but when was the last time you went to a good leaving do in Costa Coffee? It is a British trait to be self-deprecating but I think it is time that this industry held its head up high and was proud of its contribution. db John McNamara is chief executive of the BII. For further information visit www.bii.org or call 01276 684449.