News Article Comments : It's all up to the Government now

In the current climate, it’s absolutely vital that struggling licensees can cling to some sense of hope that things will eventually get better.

But where do they get that from? Everyone is saying that 2009 will be worse than 2008. The banks are still recovering from their excesses of the past few years and are in no position to bail people out. Energy prices look set to continue skywards. And the Government has absolutely no magic wand to wave at the world’s economic woes and make them disappear. So, on the economic front, it looks as if nothing’s going to change for the next few years. No hope there, then.

How about on the trading front? Difficult to see any bright spots there, either. Customers are under real pressure too and, to make matters worse, are increasingly resentful of the high prices (food as well as beer) they have to pay when they visit the pub. In fact, it’s getting so expensive for an average family to eat out these days that it’s hard to see how pubs can tempt fami