Rob Hylands, who has run Admiral Taverns’ lease the Foresters Arms in Gosport, Hampshire, for the past 11 years, said he decided to stand as a Liberal Democrat candidate as a result of
the political debates among his customers.
He has represented the party as a local councillor since 2009, but said he was particularly drawn to represent the group at Westminster due to its pledge to strengthen planning laws so that permission is required before a pub can be converted into another use.
He added that being a publican means he already has a strong relationship with local residents, compared to the average politician, who he said was “far too disconnected from society”.
“Locals can talk to me about policies, about me and about any issues they’re having in a reasonably relaxed atmosphere,” he said.
“Even if I get in, I’ll keep the pub — my wife will run it. It’s something that gives me a connection to the people of Gosport that I wouldn’t get if I did any other job.”
However, Hylands will have to overturn a substantial Conservative majority of 14,413 to win the Gosport seat ahead of Tory candidate Caroline Dinenage.
Giles Wareham, of the Rising Sun in Christian Malford, Wiltshire, has also launched his campaign to become an independent MP. His key policies focus on the NHS, farming and reducing VAT to 5% for the hospitality industry.
“Pubs have to put 20% VAT on food when it is zero in supermarkets, and that is something that needs to be addressed,” he said.
North Wiltshire has been a safe Tory seat held since 1997 by James Gray, who achieved a 7,483 majority in 2010, but Wareham said this election is “exceptionally open”.
He added that if he is elected, his wife and stepson would run the pub and he would “probably run my surgery from here too”.
“My customers are behind me and have taken it very seriously. I am getting good support from some unexpected quarters,” he said. “Pubs are an inherent and important part of British life but are taken for granted.”
Are you standing for election or hosting any election events in your pub? If so email mike.berry@wrbm.com with all the details