Publican Party gears up for Scottish elections

An Inverness licensee who claims he is "certain" to be a member of the Scottish Parliament blames a year of the smoking ban for this month's closure of historic city pub the Citadel.

Publican Party chairman Kit Fraser, owner of music bar Hootananny's, is standing in the elections on May 3. He believes the demise of the Citadel, a waterfront pub beside a one-time Cromwellian fort, is a taste of what's in store for many more British pubs when the smoking ban hits.

His party is campaigning on an anti-ban ticket and is expected to reap votes in Scotland's parliamentary elections as traditional Labour voters take revenge at the ballot box.

Reckoned to be the city's second-oldest bar, the Citadel reportedly closed after landlady Arlene Clunas said the ban had been "the last straw". She said it wasn't feasible to gamble money on an expensive upgrade which wasn't might fail to arrest dwindling sales. Deep-discounted supermarket drink offers are also reportedly hitting the city's traditional pub trade.

"Labour is supposed to be the party of the ordinary working man," said Mr Fraser, "but it's exactly these people who are suffering most - the people who want a pint and a fag in a decent, civilised bar at the end of a hard day."

But Mr Fraser, whose party is contesting five of Scotland's eight regional seats, says the big test of how the ban has influenced voters will come in the Lowlands, Labour's heartland, where he's contesting Central Scotland.

He predicts the worst effects of the Scottish ban on pubs have still to come.

"People won't just close when they start to lose money," he said. "They'll often hang on, hoping things will change, but in another year they'll have run out of both time and cash."