St. Albans MP Champions Local Pubs

St. Albans MP Anne Main recently called upon the Government to recognise the role that traditional pubs serve within their communities. It was no surprise, then, that I stumbled across Main and her Conservative Party supporters stuffing envelopes at the White Hart Tap yesterday over lunch.

In the House of Commons, Main recently said, “Some people dispute this, but St. Albans apparently has the most pubs per square mile of any place in England, and pubs are part of the historic street scene. Anybody who has been to St. Albans will have seen the historic pubs, and there can even be two or three in one short road. Those pubs traditionally supported people on the many pilgrimages to St. Albans, so they go back a long way.

“The smaller pubs are finding life hard. The bigger pubs, which can bring in the clubbers and people interested in the dance scene, are not struggling so much and they have benefited from extended licensing. However, the smaller pubs, where people go for a quiet drink and to chew the fat or to debate the issues that my hon. Friend raised, have been struggling"

In addition to having some great pubs, St. Albans is the home of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), which is organising a cross-party Save the Pub debate with members of Parliament taking part in a Question Time style discussion of issues affecting the pub trade.

The economy, VAT increases on the sale of alcoholic beverages, and lifestyle changes have all hurt the pub trade over recent years. Many St. Albans pubs continue to thrive, but some have struggled and others, most notably the Glasshouse in Victoria Street, have closed. Let's hope that, with the economy now said to be improving, that things will also improve for our local pubs, which serve an important role within our communities.