10/08/2026
🇬🇧 SAVE OUR PUBS: WE NEED A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD.
Britain is losing its pubs, and we need to talk about one of the biggest pressures they face: supermarket alcohol pricing.
I run Temper & Brown, a small independent bar in Birmingham. On a busy Saturday night, if we run out of vodka or tequila, I can sometimes buy a bottle from a supermarket cheaper than I can get it from my trade wholesaler.
That is bonkers.
Supermarkets have enormous buying power and have historically used alcohol as a loss leader. A pub can’t sell you cheap vodka hoping you’ll also buy your weekly shop. Alcohol is our business.
Yes, pubs need help with rates, tax and energy costs, and recent government support is welcome.
But if we’re serious about saving Britain’s independent pubs, we need to tackle the other side of the equation.
Give pubs a level playing field on alcohol pricing.
Because pubs aren’t just somewhere to buy a drink. They’re employers, music venues, meeting places and communities.
Once they’re gone, they’re very difficult to get back.
🍺 SAVE OUR PUBS. SUPPORT INDEPENDENTS. LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD.
