Where to start on such an iconic subject the great British Public House? The origins of modern day Pubs [Public Houses] dates back to the coaching days when a long distance coaches carrying the Mail and passengers, would need to stop to feed and water the horses and perhaps bed them down for the night. The foot passengers could enjoy local Ales and local food.

A little known fact is a publican is still required to keep a bail of straw on the premises for horses! allied to this tap water must be available free of charge. Spinning our imaginary Time machine forward in time to lets say the 1980s. My family would meet once a week on a Sunday, 2 sisters my Mother and Father and partners, Normally lets say 7 to 10 people, we would exchange jokes, news from our respective jobs.  Often we would have Pub grub maybe a Ploughman’slunch or Chicken in a basket, we lived relatively close to each-other say 15 miles apart so a Pub was our no1 choice to meet up being central warm and serving nice drinks.

The Pub was so integral to the British way of life it was reflected in popular Television [Apologise to any American readers] such as “Only Fools and Horses” they had “The Nags Head” “Emmerdale” had “The Wool-pack” “Coronation Street” had “The Rovers Return” “Eastenders” had “The Queen Vic”.

By 2009 we had lost literally thousands of Pubs, it was predicted on local radio that 1 in 4 pubs remaining would be closed by the end of 2009.  So whats happened to one of our treasured industries?

The official view point is complicated ill stream line the Brewers and Publicans take on the decline.  The brewers are blaming the world wide population explosion which has made a huge demand on Wheat a crucial ingredient in brewing which has doubled in cost, this cost increase is passed onto the Publicans who in turn put up the cost of Beer.  The Government has made it illegal for customers to smoke inside Pubs as second hand smoke is carcinogenic, the Publicans claim this has seriously put off their core customers hence losing business.  Lastly the Brewers and Publicans blame low cost Alcohol in Supermarkets as undermining their business.

I have an alternate view, When i was 18 [1982] i brought my first pint of larger [Harp!] it cost £0.75p i was earning say ball park £16k a year being a Garage Service Advisor, now lets fast forward to 2009 the same job now Service Advisor carries pretty much the same salary lets say £16k to £18k, now here is the crunch that same pint of beer in 2009 costs £3.95 now Maths isn’t my strong point but according to my calculator the beer has risen in price 5 fold and the wages over a 27 year period has remained all but static! there in lies the problem, working men and women simply cant afford to drink in Pubs! the Brewers and Publicans can blame who they like, you can spin these facts anyway they want but the bottom line is alcohol sold in Pubs is 5 times more expensive than it was and wages have not risen retrospectively.

My final point is Supermarkets can buy Alcohol in bulk and sell it at a third of the price of Pubs and still turn in a profit, please anyone check the published profits of lets say “Tesco” hardly struggling are they? So i am with regret forced to accept that most of the Pubs we knew and loved will close in the next few years, leaving only a few novelty bars near Universities and Tourist attractions open.

Lord Banks