Public houses are closing down by at least 5 a week. Man’s after-work watering hole, to a Ladies stop-off before heading into town, or just a once in a while treat for you and your mates. Where would we be without our Pubs? Here are my theories as to why so many pubs are closing down on a weekly basis:

1. Beer Tax – The Prime Minister, Gordon (I’m a greedy sausage chomper) Brown slams more and more tax on alcohol, not only making it harder for pubs to actually make money, but they get the double whammy from the breweries. The Government put the tax on alcohol up 10p, the breweries put the cost per unit up in a doubly proportionate amount. This punishes the Pubs and the customers in an even higher cost. What Mr Brown doesn’t realise is, that the more tax he puts on Alcohol, the less people spend when out, and the less tax he makes. If he reduces the tax say, by 15p, he won’t be encouraging people to go out, but he will be allowing people to spend more, without suffering the costs. This will allow him to make more. It’s also lighter on the breweries as well.
2. Smoking Ban – The smoking ban hit the pub trade heavily. It forced people outside the pubs, into a cold and dilapidated sheet of corrugated iron. Who wants to go into a pub, and be forced into a wet and windy shelter, when they can quite happily sit at home smoking cigarettes, while drinking a beer. I know the social aspect is all about going out, having a few drinks and a laugh, but no-one wants to get chilblains while having a smoke in the middle of winter. The beer is cheep enough at the supermarket to just go out, pick up a case of 24 cans, and sit at home. This also leads me onto my next argument.
3. Supermarkets – These are the Oil Barons of the Liquor trade. They have low and attractive prices which every man and his dog (who really allows their dog a tipple?) to go out and pick up 3 cases for £20. Supermarkets conspired with the Government to get the Smoking Ban enforced, so that the government would benefit from the fines, and the Supermarkets would benefit from the alcohol trade. Asda and Tesco’s have made a small fortune out of the smoking ban, which allows them to buy more stores where no-one wants a store, like in the middle of Loch Ness….

I really do Gordon Brown and his pack of money hungry wolves, coyotes realise that they are the only ones to blame for the damaging of the economy, and if they want to pick it back up before the grind wheel of recession rolls right over, they don’t have much time.

Comments would be appreciative