Keir Starmer backs Mirror marketing campaign to save lots of Britain’s pubs – ‘I nonetheless return to my native’

Keir Starmer has hailed the importance of Britain’s pubs and revealed that he sometimes slips out of No10 to go to his old local.

The Prime Minister threw his weight behind the Mirror’s campaign to save our struggling boozers, still reeling from the pandemic and the energy crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine. Mr Starmer said pubs are “hugely important”, telling us: “They are the places where friends, family, community come together around something which is very British – the pub.

“It’s a place of warmth, of opportunity, to have a nice time with friends, family and for many people to have the friendship and engagement that is so important to their wellbeing. That is uniquely brought together in our pubs, which is why there’s nothing any of us like better than going to the local for a pint, myself included.”

Mr Starmer admitted that he’s nipped back to his old local, the Pineapple in Kentish Town, since moving into Downing Street last summer. “We’ve managed to get back in there a couple of times since I’ve been PM, which shows that I’m not just supporting your campaign, I’m voting with my feet,” he said.

The Mirror is calling for the Government to back pubs with a fighting fund for hard-hit boozers and proper recognition for pubs that are the heart of our communities. The campaign also demands more support for community groups who want to buy their local pub to stop it from closing.

More than 400 pubs in England and Wales called last orders last year as landlords struggled with rising running costs and falling spending by cash-strapped pubgoers. Industry experts CGA by NIQ and AlixPartners found 3,000 pubs, bars, restaurants and clubs risk closing in 2025.

Publicans have blamed a toxic cocktail of spiralling supply and staffing costs, rising energy bills, and cuts to Government help with business rates, as hard-pressed customers tighten their belts. The government is under pressure to do more to help hospitality as the industry braces for hikes to national insurance contributions (NICs).

If you are a publican and want to tell us how you are getting along then email graham.hiscott@mirror.co.uk

The rate employers pay NICs will rise from 13.8% to 15% in April, and the threshold for paying the tax on each worker’s salary will be reduced from £9,100 to £5,000. Chancellor Rachel Reeves argued the rise would raise £25billion for cash-strapped public services.

But pub and restaurant bosses have warned the move could force them to lay off staff or even shut their doors. The PM pointed to the decision to take a penny off the pint in the Budget, saying it showed that the government backs pubs.

Mr Starmer told the Mirror: “That was symbolic and important in the sense that we wanted to give that little bit of support for pubs, for pub goers, for those that this is an important part of their lives, and we will continue to do so.

“It’s not just a business, it is something more than that in terms of a place that’s at the heart of our communities. That’s why we need to support our pubs, keep our pubs open and make sure that every place – every village, town, city – has many, many local pubs.”

Your Pub Needs You – our campaign demands

• A fighting fund for pubs

• Recognition for pubs that go above and beyond in their community

• More support for community groups wanting to buy their local.

Hospitality chiefs welcomed the Mirror’s push for more support for industry. Sacha Lord, chair of the Night Time Industries Association, said: “I support the Daily Mirror’s Your Pub Needs You campaign 100%. It’s great that the Mirror has put its head above the parapet on such an important issue.

“I’m delighted because I get so many messages from operators who are really desperate, and more desperate now than they were during Covid.” He called on the government to delay a planned reduction in business rate relief from this April, saying it would cost the average pub with a rateable value of £100,000 an extra £19,000 per year.

Ben Martin, co-owner of the Carlton Tavern in Maida Vale, north London, and spokesperson for the UK Spirits Alliance, said: “We welcome this very important campaign by the Daily Mirror that highlights the plight of many landlords who are on the brink due to a raft of spiralling costs from hikes in spirits tax to national insurance rises. Pubs are more than just pints.”

Neema Rai, founder of Tamesis Dock, a converted 1930’s Dutch barge permanently moored between Lambeth and Vauxhall Bridge in London, said customers didn’t have the spare cash to spend in the pub anymore. “It’s great that the Mirror is standing behind pubs and recognizing the current crisis,” said Ms Rai, another UK Spirits Alliance spokesperson.

She said trade in January had been tough, adding: “We’ve been posting online about the decline in footfall we have seen. People don’t have the money to come and spend anymore.”