Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s team has thrown its support behind standing drinkers in London pubs, urging Westminster City Council to work with the hospitality industry.
The intervention follows a public row sparked by draft guidance from Westminster Council proposing major restrictions on traditional pub culture in the West End.
The council’s draft policy encouraged the replacement of open bar space with seating areas and table service, targeting what it called high-volume vertical drinking.
Areas around Soho, Oxford Street and Trafalgar Square would “normally refuse” new licences to pubs, bars and other hospitality venues under the proposed rules.
The guidance is currently out for consultation, framed by the council as a measure to “discourage excessive drunkenness” among patrons in the busy central London districts.
“Busy pubs full of people talking to each other is not a public nuisance, it is British life and it is thousands of jobs,” Burnham’s team said in a forthright statement backing pub culture.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan also waded into the debate, posting on X: “You can’t run a world-famous nightlife district with a village-hall mindset.”
The Conservative-led council has since insisted “there is no plan” to stop vertical drinking, with council leader Paul Swaddle accusing the press of writing “confusing stories” giving that impression.
Swaddle also hit back at City Hall, stating: “We don’t need lectures from City Hall on backing hospitality when they have directed the police to object to every new licence application as their solution to curbing crime in the West End.”
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, described attempts to restrict pub landlords as a “total misstep” given the sector’s ongoing struggles.
McClarkin pointed to a deeply challenging trading environment, noting restrictions come “at a time when two pubs are closing each day and publicans are only making 12p profit per pint.”
Burnham has made repeated efforts since taking power in July to present himself as a champion of the embattled pubs sector through several social media campaigns.
Shortly after entering Downing Street, Burnham appeared in a video alongside Chancellor John Healey to announce a cut to hospitality business rates.
The Prime Minister has sought to reassure struggling licensees with pledges that “the cavalry is coming” to support the industry through difficult trading conditions.
However, those savings have been reported as likely to be “dwarfed by other costs” of doing business, according to analysis from City AM.
Pubs have faced significant hikes to employment costs and business rates since Labour came to power in 2024, compounding pressure on already thin margins across the sector.