Public don't trust politicians with pubs

New research has shown that two in five Brits (43%) don’t trust any of the Conservative, Labour or Liberal Democrat political party leaders to look out for the interests of British pubs.  

According to CAMRA, Labour’s Keir Starmer fared best, with 17% of Britons saying they would trust him to look out for the interests of pubs, while current Conservative prime minister Rishi Sunak only had the trust of 9%.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey came in at the bottom of the pack, with just 3% of Brits saying they would trust him to look out for the interests of pubs. 

"Sadly, this data suggests that the public’s perception is that our beloved locals have often been an afterthought in politics," says CAMRA’s national chairman Nik Antona. "We often hear politicians playing lip service to the community and social value of our locals – which is brilliant – but we need that to be backed up with meaningful action.  

"With a general election approaching, these results should be a wake up call for politicians, who need to have substantive policies in place to address the catalogue of issues facing the pub trade. CAMRA believes our pubs and social clubs deserve a fighting chance with urgent action needed on energy prices, business rates, a fix for the takeaway pints issue caused by the new alcohol duty system, and the right for licensees to choose what products they keep on the bar without stock lists being dictated by pub companies."

Great British Jeer Fest 

The findings from CAMRA come days after prime minister Rishi Sunak attended the Great British Beer Festival to promote his alcohol duty reform.

The PR stunt backfired for the PM, with much of the pub and bar industry questioning his 'protecting the price of the pint' line, as many other political and economic factors continue to drive prices up for operators and consumers. 

On top of this, the duty reform, where duty paid on all alcoholic drinks is relative to their strength, has been criticised for its exclusion of packaged drinks and driving up prices across other categories.

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