Support spirals for Proud of Pubs Week
Support for next week's Proud of Pubs Week has been sweeping the country with licensees, MPs and pub companies queuing up to join in.
Just days before the initiative kicks off, Proud of Pubs Week won new support among politicians with one Westminster MP tabling a motion backing it in the House of Commons - and the Conservative leader in the Welsh Assembly raising it in Cardiff.
The heavyweight backing comes after more than 100 MPs, including Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell and former Tory leader Michael Howard agreed to drop into pubs and meet with publicans this week.
Licensees, meanwhile, have been planning a host of activities, ranging from party nights to local cheese evenings, as well as taking part in the behind-the-scenes activities The Publican has been promoting during the week.
Greg Mulholland, MP for Leeds North West, approached The Publican last Monday with the idea of tabling a Commons motion backing Proud of Pubs. A member of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group, the MP said: "I'm supporting Proud of Pubs Week as it is vitally important that we recognise the value of pubs in this country, and the role they play in their communities. Far more MPs than people realise support pubs - they support businesses in their constituencies. I will be visiting pubs in Leeds on July 13, and I'm urging as many people as possible to do so during the week."
Nick Bourne, the Leader of the Welsh Conservative Group in the Welsh Assembly, tabled a Statement of Opinion with similar wording in the assembly last Thursday.
"I'm delighted to support Proud of Pubs Week," he told The Publican. "I represent Mid and West Wales, one of the biggest rural areas in Wales and where local pubs really do make a huge impact. I'm proud to contribute to this week, to showcase the fantastic things pubs, licensees and their staff are doing in their communities."
Cerian Cornel, licensee of the Sun Inn in Lydiard Millicent, near Swindon, has laid on activities during the week, including a cheese evening and a 'meet the brewer' evening featuring a local microbrewer.
"This has come at just the right time, after the smoking ban - it will help us raise awareness of the trade just when we need to," she said.
"There's a common misconception that publicans just turn up at 11am and open the doors. Proud of Pubs Week is helping us to show that there is a lot more to pubs than that."
