Councils urged to let pubs to remain open later for England’s 1am World Cup conflict
The Three Lions face Mexico at 1am on Monday in the World Cup round of 16 after beating the Democratic Republic of the Congo 2-1 in a nail-biting match on Wednesday
Calls for pubs to be allowed to open later for England’s 1am clash with Mexico have been rejected(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Councils are being urged to allow pubs to stay open for England’s early morning World Cup clash on Monday.
The Three Lions face Mexico at 1am on Monday in the Round of 16 after beating the Democratic Republic of the Congo 2-1 in a nail-biting match on Wednesday.
Measures have been passed to allow pubs to stay open until 2am for England matches in the knockout stages that kick off between 9pm and 10pm – but this does not apply to Monday’s game.
Communities Secretary Steve Reed has written to councils to encourage them to deal with applications quickly to let pubs extend their hours in a boost to fans’ hopes of enjoying the game in their local boozer.
The PM’s spokesman said: “The Secretary of State for Housing and Communities has written to councils to encourage them to sign off applications for pubs to extend their hours even further with these late games so that fans can enjoy the football.”
Liberal Democrat MP Max Wilkinson called for a blanket extension to licensing hours for the match during business and trade questions in the House of Commons on Thursday.
He said: “Harry Kane ’s heroics last night means that many England fans are looking forward to an early morning or a late night, depending on one’s perspective, on Monday, and this is a good thing.
“But pubs risk missing out on a real opportunity to get more money into the till if ministers do not make a blanket extension for licensing hours.
“Will ministers consider that with their colleagues in other departments, so fans can enjoy the game in the pub?”
Business Minister Kate Dearden paid tribute to “the incredible Harry Kane, our captain, for his performance last night”, adding: “He absolutely calmed my blood pressure, and (I) will be championing the boys on Sunday.”
But she added: “He will know that pubs can stay open for an extra two or three hours, depending on how late the match starts, so that pubs can still open as the game finishes.
“Regarding Sunday, unfortunately that doesn’t apply with the 1am start, but going forwards we’re absolutely backing our pubs, so people can watch and support our lads, and it’s coming home hopefully.”
It comes after Keir Starmer left the door open to granting a bank holiday if England wins the World Cup. Asked if he’d give fans a day off, the PM told reporters at the G7 summit last month: “I’m not gonna jinx the World Cup but, you know, the last time we won the World Cup it was a Labour government.
“And so it’s absolutely clear that we only win World Cups under a Labour government. So let’s hope that this is the next opportunity.”
In 2022, the PM backed calls for the Tory Government to grant an extra bank holiday if the Lionesses won the Euros final. But No10 said on Monday that it would not commit to a bank holiday if England roars to victory.
