Pub renaissance beckons

there is much to do if we

are to reverse the tidal wave of negativity that's swept over the trade

Andrew Pring, Editor

Enough really is enough. After months of enduring rabid anti-pub propaganda from the national press, a massive fightback is underway. The Morning Advertiser's Lay off my Local campaign has really caught licensee imagination and we'll be pushing on hard with our Heart of the Community campaign for as long as it takes to win back the respect pubs are due.

And the great news is we're not alone in our campaigning. The BII, as we've already announced, has pledged itself to battle alongside us in raising the image of pubs in the minds of opinion-formers. And now this week the British Beer & Pub Association is joining the fray, with all the resources and power it can bring to bear on this crucial campaign.

There is so much to do if we are to reverse the tidal wave of negativity that's swept over the trade this year. And no one should be under any illusions that success will be easy or swift. The national media will not feel obliged to print or film good news stories about pubs just because the trade presents them up for consideration. And, let's face it, there will still be plenty of drunken idiots on our streets late at night in the years to come easy meat for prejudiced journalists to devour and spit out in their anti-pub columns.

But we at the MA are convinced the tide can be turned and we know many others are too. And that's because when the true story of the role of the pub is highlighted fairly and the real stories come out, people will see the stupidity of continually blackening the name of this extraordinary institution.

That point will not be lost on the Mail's newspaper rivals. They will relish making the Mail's doomsayers look stupid and hysterical.

Even more importantly, and this may sound a little unhinged given all that's going on now, I'm convinced the pub is on the verge of a glorious renaissance, with the role of midwife performed by the new licensing hours. With the opportunities to drink later everywhere, the public will find itself falling in love with pubs all over again. You just have to see how Scotland's punters have adapted to later drinking to see how exciting the new hours can be.

So let's all campaign together to put pubs back on their rightful pedestal. Our customers will be cheering us on all the way.