Popping down to the local for a “swift half” after a hard day at the office has been a long held British tradition for many years now, and with the country finally seeming to have a touch of summer sunshine, beer gardens nationwide will be overflowing with young people enjoying a cool pint. Or will they?
A study of the drinking habits of 18-24 year olds by real ale campaigners Camra has revealed that the number of young people regularly visiting their local public house has fallen dramatically in recent years.
Seven years ago, the number choosing to drink at least once a week stood at 38 per cent, yet today this has fallen with only 16 per cent of young people considering themselves regular pub goers. This could be due to a number of factors, most prominently the number of pubs and bars closing on a weekly basis, which now totals over eight thousand – a fact, according to campaigners, which is due to the ever increasing taxes on beer.
Camra’s chief executive, Mike Benner, said; “Hard working Publicans have been hammered by the Government in recent times and what we’ve seen in the past seven years is that young adults in particular have been priced out of an affordable night down their local pub.
“The Government have encouraged people to use their pubs as community assets, yet this is a hollow message when punitive increases on the price of a pint have meant that consumers are deterred from visiting their local, causing beer sales figures in this country to fall flat.”
The study was conducted to coincide with Camra’s Great British Beer Festival, which will be held in London this week. 1,000 adults took part, including 150 young people aged 18-24, and were questioned about their drinking habits with relation, in large part, to commercial property public houses.
Researchers also found that one in two of the 1,000 participants now choose to drink at home, rather than visiting their local pub. They wish to highlight the fact that beer tax has risen 42 per cent since 2008 – putting the rising costs to the forefront as to why public houses and bars are no longer the success stories they once were in Great Britain.
In response to the Government’s increasing taxes on alcohol, Camra have launched an e-petition, with the aim of forcing a Parliamentary debate on the issue of over taxation.
Bob Neill, Community Pubs Minister, said; “The coalition Government is taking decisive action to tackle the sale of excessively cheap alcohol, by introducing a minimum unit price for alcohol.
“This will protect responsible, well-run pubs from unfair loss-leading by supermarkets, and leaving the price of a pint in a pub unaffected.
“We are actively supporting local community pubs – having increased business rate relief, making it easier to hold live music and scrapped the last Government’s cider tax.”
No matter how much the Government spins the story, one fact remains clear – the bar industry is suffering, with multiple commercial property closures every week across the country.
However, it is not all bad news – the study discovered that, even though there are now fewer people drinking in public houses, the number of people choosing to drink real ale has grown considerably, with young women pushing the trend up most.
Do you drink in your local pub on a regular basis? Would you agree with a lowering of the beer tax in order to let community pubs get back on their feet financially?
This is very interesting. Along with a host of problems facing the licensed trade there does appear to have been a cultural shift in recent years. If this trend continues it will be bad news for the industry and can only lead to further pub closures.
We agree Adrian. People just don’t have the disposable income to spend on pub prices when you can buy a lot more for your money from retail commercial properties like supermarkets. Drinking in the home is not only easier, but dramatically cheaper.