Editorial: All change for you and us

I’m well aware that I’m taking on an illustrious legacy — a newspaper with a 221-year history and a great champion for its trade (not to mention following in Charles Dickens’ footsteps!). It’s a great honour and a privilege to find myself guiding the title into the future in the coming years, and one I do not take lightly.

This magazine is the market-leading title, representing tenants, lessees and freeholders across the trade, with an overriding purpose to help our readers to build their businesses into the future. The role of any trade magazine, particularly one with the heritage and longevity of the Publican’s Morning Advertiser​, is to give you the tools to innovate, adapt and improve your operations, and that is something I intend to continue to drive forward.

However, as we encourage you to innovate and improve, we too must also adapt and change with the market as well, and during the coming weeks, as is apt with an election looming, I shall be presenting my manifesto for the future of the PMA.

Research

I’m aware that I have a lot to learn in the coming weeks and months — despite having spent a fair amount of time conducting ‘research’ into the pub sector during the past twenty (five) years or so, I’m aware that I’m pretty much clueless when it comes to the nuts and bolts of the trade, but I’m eager to learn.

I’m looking forward to getting under the skin of the industry, finding out what makes you all tick, and the odd sampling of a beer or two...

So, during the coming months, I’m going to be getting out and about and meeting as many of you as I can, to get a real feel for what drives you all forward, and how we, as the oldest and best pub paper in the country can assist you to take your businesses forward in what is a highly demanding market.

I know there are some considerable challenges out there, and I’m relishing the fact that I’m coming to things with a fresh, perhaps naive, perspective — but I’m excited to be getting my teeth into the tasks ahead.

Politics

Meanwhile, it would appear that the pub trade is counting on a Tory win in the general election, or perhaps even a Tory/UKIP coalition, if our survey results are anything to go by.

Perhaps Farage’s regular, and well-documented, trips to the pub have something to do with his popularity.

Certainly, the pub is a key touchstone for politicians looking to connect with the electorate, with local papers up and down the land filled with photos of former MPs and candidates making a hash of pulling a pint.

However, the results from our election survey make for interesting reading, and for someone coming into the pub trade for the first time, it’s a fascinating insight into the political make-up of the sector.
The most disturbing figure, for me, however, was the fact that more than two thirds of respondents couldn’t name Community Pubs Minister Kris Hopkins, with most scoring the role as ineffective.

For whoever comes into Government, this is a serious issue that needs to be addressed — if the politicos are serious about supporting local communities, the pub is without a doubt the hub of that, and needs good representation in cabinet.