Sir Keir Starmer has raised eyebrows in the pub industry by backing the Daily Mirror’s campaign to save local boozers, Your Pub Needs You, despite the PM enacting many of the measures that most threaten the survival of the sector. So, how does that work…no really?

Prime Minister Sir Starmer has backed the Daily Mirror’s Your Pub Needs You campaign, telling reporters that pubs are “hugely important” contributors to the economy and community, and that he often visits his own local with his family.

Despite many venues facing dramatically higher costs this year due to his government’s Autumn Budget announcements, the PM said, without any sense of irony, that “we need to support our pubs.” 

“They are the places where friends, family, and community come together around something which is very British,” said Starmer. “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.”

Starmer said that the Chancellor’s decision to take a penny off each pint in the recent Budget was “symbolic and important.”
“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.”

Perhaps he should tell Rachel.