Dear Liz and Rishi,

Open letter to the next Prime Minister regarding the urgent need for action to save pubs

We are writing on behalf of the Campaign for Pubs urging you to pledge urgent action to tackle the existential crisis that threatens the very future of thousands of the UK’s important and beloved pubs.

Very simply, the huge rise in the cost of energy bills is making many thousands of previously perfectly viable pubs, and other businesses, unprofitable and unsustainable. The inflationary effect throughout the supply chain has led to all business costs rocketing at the same time as consumers are reducing their spending due to the cost-of-living crisis. Consequently, many pubs that have survived for decades, even centuries, now face having to close. In our industry the threat is now existential, not just for pubs but also for small independent suppliers and producers, including many of the UK’s burgeoning small craft breweries and other drinks firms, all of whom rely on significant energy usage.