The MP's arms
It was the day that Parliament went to the pub. From Glasgow to Glossop, Bridgend to Brighton, more than 100 MPs across the UK took up the invitations of licensees to come and celebrate Proud of Pubs Week in their pubs on July 13.
The MPs included a string of high-profile politicians - none more so than the Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell.
The MP for North East Fife in Scotland paid a visit to the Ladybank Tavern in Ladybank, near Cupar, and really got into the spirit of things, slipping behind the bar to pour a Guinness with licensee Dougie McWilliams and find out about life in the pub trade for himself.
"He was quite surprised at how good the Guinness was," says Dougie. "He said he was quite partial to it when he was at university but he hadn't tried it for a long time!"
Sir Menzies took a particular interest in the changes of technology around beer dispense, and was keen to discuss the impact of Scotland's smoking ban."We both agreed that it had been a huge success in Scotland," says Dougie. "Anyone who says it hasn't worked has got to have had their head buried in the sand."
At the opposite end of the UK, meanwhile, the former Tory leader Michael Howard was meeting licensee Gary Hooper at his pub, the Britannia Inn in Shorncliffe, Kent.Howard spent time chatting with the locals - and apparently assured the licensee that the Conservatives' mooted 7p a pint tax on beer, suggested recently by a Tory think-tank, would not make it into the party's next manifesto.
"I pointed out that if I went to a pub with £20 I would probably go home reasonably sober," says Gary. "But if I went to the supermarket I'd be buying at least 36 cans of lager. Seven pence on a pint is not going to stop binge-drinking, and he agreed with me."
Howard also donated a bottle of House of Commons blended whiskey which went into the charity auction at a Proud of Pubs Week fun day at the pub on Saturday. The event, which also featured duck racing and other activities, raised more than £2,200 for charity, with half the proceeds going to a local children's hospice and the other half going to the Down's Syndrome Association.
Other high-profile MPs who visited pubs included justice minister Bridget Prentice, who called into the Dacre Arms in Lewisham, South London, local government minister John Healey, who turned up at the Crown Inn in Rawmarsh, South Yorkshire, and Theresa May, the shadow leader of the House of Commons - and a fierce critic of the Licensing Act 2003 - who visited the Old Swan Uppers in Cookham, Berkshire.
Valuable local publicity for the pubs involved appeared in countless local newspapers, while national publicity for Proud of Pubs Week was gained in media ranging from The Times to BBC News online.
Above all the week proved that many politicians are interested in pubs, and are willing to discuss issues with licensees - they only need an invitation. Have you invited yours yet?
