After delivering his first Budget in the House of Commons on Wednesday 28 October, the Chancellor visited the Two Chairmen pub in Westminster, London, for a celebratory drink, where he was filmed downing a pint while being cheered on by others at the venue.
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Founder and operations director of ART Hospitality Dorian Kirk said the footage raised questions about the standards expected of ministers and hospitality operators, urging Westminster City Council to investigate whether the celebration complied with mandatory licensing conditions.
He also called on Greene King, which operates the pub, to clarify the circumstances surrounding the celebration.
The mandatory licensing conditions, introduced by Labour in 2010 and tightened in 2014 by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, prohibit irresponsible promotions involving activities that encourage customers to drink a quantity of alcohol within a time limit or consume as much as possible.
Same standards
Kirk, who runs restaurants and pubs across Hereford, Worcester, Gloucester and Birmingham, including Great British Pub Awards Best Town Pub the Dr Foster in Gloucester, urged ministers should be expected to understand and take the regulations they set seriously.
He said: “Hospitality businesses are expected to understand licensing conditions, train our teams and take responsible drinking seriously. Ministers should respect those same standards.
“When footage emerges of the Chancellor downing a pint behind a pub bar while people cheer him on, it is reasonable to ask how that sits with the standards operators are expected to uphold.
“The protections were introduced under Labour. The public should be able to expect consistency between the rules Government sets and the example its ministers choose to set.
“If the circumstances complied with the rules, explain why. If there are questions to answer, they should be examined fairly and transparently.
“Those of us running pubs and restaurants take these responsibilities seriously every day. We expect the same seriousness from Government.”
Longstanding tradition
Healey was filmed drinking a pint of Chancellor’s Choice, a beer brewed by Rotherham-based Chantry Brewery, at the pub, which has a longstanding tradition of hosting Chancellors for a drink following Budget announcements.
No licensing breach has been established, and whether the conditions apply to the circumstances would require assessment by the relevant authorities.
It comes after the Chancellor introduced a number of measures affecting the hospitality sector in his Budget, which attracted criticism from operators across the industry.
The Budget included a 3.9% increase to the national living wage and national minimum wage from April 2027, while alcohol duty will rise in line with inflation from February 2027.
It also featured an additional £10m in annual duty relief for small alcohol producers and changes to business rates relief for qualifying properties in England.
