Labour shadow pubs minister Toby Perkins joins forces with Dave Mountford

Perkins said: “I want to see Britain’s community pubs thriving, it is clear that there is a widespread consensus amongst those in the pub trade that there should be review of a self regulatory regime that is not fit for purpose.  Parliament also unanimously voted for this to begin in the near future.

“Unfortunately, the Tory-led government is completely out of touch with the concerns of pubs and has washed its hands of any responsibility to support them.

“This is why I’m delighted to join forces with Dave, who has shown just how popular local independent pubs can be.  He will be a strong voice for pubs and their millions of patrons.  When he talks about the need to put the relationship between licensees and PubCos on a more formal statutory basis he is speaking from great personal experience.”

Mountford, who is a licensee and GMB branch secretary of the Matlock branch, added: “Toby is a great spokesman for pubs in Westminster. Whilst the Government seem to have forgotten to appoint a pubs minister after the recent reshuffle, it’s good to see that Labour has a dedicated Shadow Pubs Minister and even better to know that he understands the need for a review of a self-regulatory system that has so clearly failed.  I look forward to working with him to deliver just that.”

The news comes just a week after the secretary of state for the Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Vince Cable admitted he was “disappointed” at the speed of the implementation of the self-regulation agreement to manage the pubco tenant relationship.

The Government named Brandon Lewis as community pubs minister in September, however the regulation of pub companies falls under BIS.