I’m a pensioner, and I’ve watched pubs disappear from our towns and villages at an alarming rate.
Every time another one closes, we hear calls for people to support their local. Fair enough. But there’s a problem nobody wants to talk about: many people simply cannot afford to.
A visit to the pub used to be a regular part of life. Now, for many pensioners, workers and young families, it feels like a luxury.
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I sympathise with landlords. Their costs have risen sharply and they have little choice but to increase prices.
But customers are facing the same pressures. Wages and pensions are not stretching as far as they once did.
Somewhere there has to be a compromise. Pubs need customers, but customers need prices they can realistically afford.
Pubs are more than places to drink. They are where people meet friends, join community groups and escape loneliness for a few hours.
If younger generations never develop the habit of using pubs because they are priced out of them, we could end up in a decade with a country full of people who rarely leave their homes.
That would be a loss for all of us.
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