The bosses of five Northern breweries have written to the prime minister calling for changes to the tier 2 restrictions announced yesterday.
The letter unifies the Hydes, JW Lees, Thwaites, Robinsons, and Joseph Holt breweries, and states: “The North’s community pubs will suffer disproportionate hardship as the North has more drink-led community pubs than other parts of the country, as a result of its industrial heritage.
“In tier 2 and above, most pubs in the North (and elsewhere) are unviable, have been given insufficient financial support, and will fail. There is no comparison to the current treatment of the pub industry — the lack of logic and inexplicable scapegoating of these community assets is a total disgrace when set against the context of what else is now allowed.
“The vast majority of retail can now open, you can have your nails painted or have a massage, but you can’t go to the pub, register for track and trace and have a pint, on your own, at a table, socially distanced from others to find some desperately needed community support through these dark months.
“No wonder loneliness, depression, and other mental health issues, as a result of the torture of solitary confinement and social isolation, are exploding in our northern communities. These pubs are the glue that holds our local communities together and they are being purposefully targeted and abandoned by the government.
“The government needs to be balanced and rational — in tier two, pubs either need the mixing of two households and to be able to serve alcoholic drinks without food, or more financial support at this critical time.”
