Heritage Public Houses Bill
Debate between Peter Prinsley and Anna Dixon
Dr Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)
This has been a very interesting debate, which has been very long. Perhaps like many other hon. Members, I am beginning to feel the need for a beer.
First of all, I should like to thank the hon. Member for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire (Mike Wood) for bringing forward this very interesting debate. Members may notice that he is wearing a tie that is the same as mine—it is the tie for the APPG on beer. I would like to recommend that all Members present consider membership of the APPG, as I can see it is something in which we all have an interest. The APPG holds a marvellous dinner in the ballroom of the Institute of Civil Engineers once a year, which I have now been to twice. I should like to recommend it to all Members.
Anna Dixon
As a member of the APPG on beer, could my hon. Friend recommend his favourite beer?
Dr Prinsley
I will come to that in a moment. I certainly do have a favourite beer. [Interruption.] If you’ll allow me one moment—
Dr Prinsley
I apologise, Madam Deputy Speaker.
It is well known that Charles Dickens stayed at the Angel hotel in 1835, and it later featured in “The Pickwick Papers”. He returned regularly to give readings next door. Two centuries on, guests can still stay in the very same room associated with his visits. Of course, most hoteliers would simply settle for a good online review.
The Masons Arms occupies a building dating back to the early 16th century. In Stowmarket, the Royal William, a traditional backstreet pub that was granted its licence only in the 1960s, serves real ale by gravity. There are plenty of things I would like to see modernised, but certainly not that.
I come to my favourite pub, the Nutshell. [Hon. Members: “Aha!”] It is listed in the “Guinness Book of Records” as the smallest pub in the country, at just 15 feet long by 7 feet wide, complete with a mummified cat. In 1984, an extraordinary 102 people and a dog called Blob reportedly squeezed inside. Any of us who struggle to find a seat at Prime Minister’s questions should count their blessings.
Stowmarket once had a pub called the Hop Pole Tavern, which had a railway siding running all the way through it. I support travelling to the pub by train, but that was taking integrated transport rather too literally.
I have already read out one of the ditties about Bury St Edmunds’ pubs, so I shall not tell the House another one, although there are several.
Anna Dixon
I thank my hon. Friend for addressing the question posed by our hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee) about his favourite pub, but I am still waiting in suspense to learn what his favourite beer is. Could he please put me out of my misery?
Dr Prinsley
I will come to that—[Laughter.] But I want to make a more serious point.
As we know, sadly, many pubs have disappeared. I understand that we lost something like 7,000 pubs during the 14 years of Conservative rule, and we continue to lose them. Anyone who walks around our towns or drives through the country can see closed-down pubs, but habits have changed and laws have changed. Some of these laws are exceptionally good ideas. For instance, the law about drink-driving is an excellent idea and has saved thousands of lives. I recall my father, who was a physician, telling me years ago that if people were caught drink-driving following an accident when he was young, the fact that they were drunk was regarded as an excuse. Times have moved on considerably.
Dr Prinsley
I simply think that the smoking ban is an utterly brilliant thing to do. I cannot predict what will happen to pubs as a result of it, but it has not been good for country pubs.
Before I conclude, I want to make one remark about the issue of supermarkets and the cost of beer in convenience stores. In the convenience store at the bottom of my street, it is less expensive to buy a slab of lager than to buy a slab of Coca-Cola. Something has gone seriously wrong with the pricing arrangements for beer. I see that Greene King has now discontinued its off-licence production and will now only sell beer in pubs. I would like very much to see something done within our tax system to make it much less attractive to buy alcohol in convenience stores and supermarkets.
Anna Dixon
I wonder whether my hon. Friend is aware of the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates’ campaign “Drop the Tap Tax”, which seeks to lower the alcohol duty on beer sold in pubs specifically via hand-pulls and keg taps. Would that be something that he would like to discuss with the Chancellor over a pint of Greene King, which is perhaps his favourite beer?
Dr Prinsley
I would very much like to speak to the Chancellor over a pint of beer about quite a number of things; perhaps that is something that I could request.
I simply cannot go on with this speech forever, but let me say that I welcome many aspects of the Bill. Its ambition to identify and protect heritage pubs is welcome, but a simple register will not pay the electricity bill. Protection must go hand in hand with helping pubs to adapt, remain accessible and, crucially, stay commercially viable. I want the next generation to know our pubs not only from old photographs, but from Sunday lunches, quiz nights and conversations with neighbours. They must not be left as empty buildings. We must keep them alive. Let us protect their history and give all our locals a future worth drinking to.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Peter Prinsley and Anna Dixon(9 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Anna Dixon (Shipley) (Lab)
Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)