It was created by Dale Harvey, who launched the Great British Pub Crawl three years ago with his wife in a bid to support the sector by visiting every pub in the country to raise awareness of the challenges they face.
At the time of publication, the plea had received 3,614 signatures. A Government response is given to petitions with more than 10,000 signatures and those with 100,000 signatures are considered for debate in Parliament.
- Sign the petition here
The petition, which will run until October, states: “We feel without Government assistance, independent breweries and pubs cannot swallow the hikes in business rates, the living wage and rising operating costs.
“Pubs are the backbone of our communities and vital in maintaining mental health and social interaction in many communities across the UK.
Way of life
“In some cases, these are the only places people have any kind of social contact.
“We feel far too many have been lost over the last 30 years due to a lack of support for the industry and we simply cannot continue on this course. Pubs are our history, our heritage, and have been our way of life for hundreds of years.”
Harvey will presented the petition to the leader of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group (APPBG) Tonia Antoniazzi on Wednesday 30 April.
Ahead of the meeting, He told The Morning Advertiser (The MA): “I will discuss the petition and several other suggestions I put forward to the Government on ways they can support the industry about two months ago.
“The pubcos have all got CEOs and people who will stand and fight for them, they don’t really need my help, but the little village pubs run by someone that has been there for 30 years, they haven’t really got a voice, so I am going to Parliament today to be that voice.”
This comes as recent figures from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) showed more than 300 pubs had closed for good in the first three months of 2025 alone.
More than 1,000 pub businesses were lost last year, according to the data from CAMRA.
Passion for pubs
Rising costs across the board, in particular hikes to National Insurance Contributions, were attributed to the closures.
Harvey has previously spoken to The MA about his mission.
Last month, the Nottinghamshire native told The MA: “People need to understand [pubs] need help now more than ever. Tomorrow is too late.”
He added: “I genuinely think in this country we have got a passion for pubs and we do care about preserving them.”
