Survey figures suggest lack of faith in political leaders to protect pubs

Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) issues warning to politicians ahead of approaching general election

Just two days after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attended CAMRA’s Great British Beer Festival, new research commissioned by the consumer campaigning group shows 2 in 5 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.

Labour’s Keir Starmer fared best, with 17% of Britons saying they would trust him to look out for the interests of pubs, whilst current Conservative PM, 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.

Consumer organisation CAMRA has always maintained party-political neutrality in its campaigning, having worked closely with all major political parties in its 50-year history. The network of grassroots campaigners that make up the 150,000 strong organisation work with elected representatives at every level, as well as fighting for pubs, social clubs, brewers and cider makers with more direct campaigning.

Despite recent lobbying successes for the Campaign, including the introduction of a lower rate of tax for beer and cider sold on draught, the organisation voiced its concerns for the future of British pubs.

CAMRA’s National Chairman, Nik Antona commented, “Sadly, this data suggests that the public’s perception is that our beloved locals have often been an afterthought in politics. 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.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,177 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 20th – 21st July 2023. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

Which of the following would you trust the most to look out for the interests of British pubs?

Rishi Sunak 9%

Keir Starmer 17%

Ed Davey 3%

None of these 43%

Don’t know 28%

More photos from the Prime Minister’s visit to the Great British Beer Festival are on the Number 10 Flickr account: https://www.flickr.com/photos/number10gov/

We welcome members of the media to the Great British Beer Festival for interview and filming opportunities. For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact gbbfpublicityteam@camra.org.uk or call 01727 337 863.