Matt Eley: How will the 'New Politics' affect the pub trade?

Finally, after a political poker match that metaphorically dragged on into the early hours, the landscape in which we will operate for the coming months, if not years, is becoming clearer.

When the votes were cast Cameron was holding the most chips, Brown tried belligerently to stay in the game before realising he had no choice but to fold and Clegg, whose hand looked weakened, managed to get himself a seat at the top table.

This unlikely coalition has been billed as 'New Politics' but will it be the same old story for pubs or is there a way our industry can leave the table as winners? Speaking to some big players (in the pub rather than poker sense) last week, there was a general mood that a coalition might not necessarily be bad news. That said, most are just happy to see the back of Labour after so many punishing years.

Admittedly, the negative soothsayers are predicting VAT of above 20 per cent and alcohol tax getting hiked up way beyond that lovely Labour legacy, the duty escalator.

But on a positive note, if concerns raised by both the Tories and the Lib Dems are acted upon we could finally see the supermarkets taken to task for their habit of stacking alcohol high and selling it cheap. How this is done - minimum pricing or, the Tory choice, a ban on loss-leading - is yet to be established, but either way it will be good news for pubs, which both parties seem to recognise sell alcohol responsibly.

The demise of Labour is also likely to spell the end of one of the shortest-running ministerial posts of all, that of pubs minister. At the time of writing there were no plans to replicate the role filled by John Healey. It also remains to be seen whether the action points he raised - and the cash he promised - before the election will be delivered, or whether the cynics were right and his appointment was just a desperate bid to win a few votes among pub customers.

Of course, we cannot fool ourselves that pubs are likely to be anywhere near the top of the political agenda. But this does not have to be a reason to be downhearted. Estimates that some government departments face budget cuts of up to 25 per cent mean there will be far fewer civil servants justifying their existence by coming up with silly pieces of legislation such as mandatory codes or alcohol disorder zones.

Indeed, with the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee already allowing the trade some breathing space, it could be that government also concentrates its efforts elsewhere and leaves the people who run pubs alone to get on with it. A cut in red tape and interference would be welcomed by all, and it would also give the various trade bodies in the sector time to build on the work that is already under way to improve fractured internal relations.

That window might just allow us as a trade to unite and focus on the many areas where we all agree, such as pubs being vastly important assets to the communities they serve.

Getting that message across collectively and coherently will be the best hand that we can play.