16Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Don’t close Parliament until pub bailout deal agreed

Don’t close Parliament until pub bailout deal agreed

Parliamentary news
With hospitality businesses on the brink following the spread of the Omicron variant, the Liberal Democrats are calling on Parliament to sit tomorrow to pass new support measures. Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain MP is demanding Parliament sit in a hybrid session to allow MPs with Covid to attend virtually, to reduce the further spread of Covid in Westminster. Wendy made the demand to Leader of the House, Jacob Rees-Mogg, during questions in the chamber. Last week, the Liberal Democrats called for taxes to be slashed on high street businesses and the Government to convene urgent meetings with business groups to bring in whatever support package they need.Calling for MPs to continue Parliament’s session until new business measures are passed, Wendy Chamberlain MP said: “MPs should not break up…
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25Mar 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Pub passports: Government should focus on supporting the industry

Pub passports: Government should focus on supporting the industry

Parliamentary news
Responding to reports that the Prime Minister is considering allowing pub landlords to be given the power to bar anyone without a COVID vaccine, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey MP said: “The Government seems utterly incapable of making its mind up on COVID certificates – but this latest wheeze is the worst of all worlds. “As well as burdening struggling pubs with extra cost, the idea that businesses can voluntarily bar certain customers, who may not even have been offered a vaccine, is deeply illiberal. “The Government should be focusing on supporting the pub industry and reviving our civil liberties and basic freedoms: this policy does the opposite of both.”
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23Mar 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Sykes takes fight for pubs and hospitality industry to party conference

Sykes takes fight for pubs and hospitality industry to party conference

Borough news, Parliamentary news
Liberal Democrats endorsed Shaw Councillor Howard Sykes’s plea for more government and council support for the hard-pressed pub and hospitality trade at a special online fringe meeting hosted by Councillor Sykes at the party’s spring conference (Saturday 20 March). In addition to being Leader of the Opposition and the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE also serves as Leader of the Local Government Association’s Liberal Democrat Group, which has 2,400 elected members in England and Wales. Attendees from councils across the UK were able to listen to speakers who included campaigner Ellie Hudspeth from Britain’s biggest consumer organisation, the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA); Daisy Cooper, Liberal Democrat MP, spokesperson for Justice, and for Digital Culture Media and Sports; and councillor Chris White, Leader of St…
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08Jan 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Barred! New Year blow to hospitality industry

Borough news
Under the latest government lockdown restrictions pubs and restaurants will be barred from selling alcohol to take away from their licensed premises or by click and collect. The new ruling means that from January 7 they can only sell alcohol if it is delivered to their customers’ homes. Liberal Democrat Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, thinks that is just plain wrong. Commenting he said: “Anyone can go to a supermarket, corner shop or off-licence to buy booze and take it away, but from this week our struggling pubs, micro-breweries and restaurants will be unable to. They can continue to sell food to customers from their premises, so why can’t they buy a few pints of fresh cask ale to go with it. “I asked the Council Leader at the December…
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17Dec 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Chancellor must act as 1 in 4 pubs worry they will go bust in less than three months

Chancellor must act as 1 in 4 pubs worry they will go bust in less than three months

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats have called on the Government to intervene and save pubs from going bust after new statistics revealed just than 1 in 4 pubs (28%) have "no or low confidence" that they will survive the next 3 months. Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats Daisy Cooper said: “Pubs are a hugely important part of our social and cultural fabric, and are community hubs often run by families for the love of the trade. "With so many pubs worried that they wont be able to survive the next few months of the pandemic, alarm bells should be ringing across government. “The Chancellor must take radical action: he must increase grants so they cover fixed costs during restrictions, guarantee that furlough will be extended for as long as pubs can’t…
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07Dec 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Too little, too late: Government announcement leaves pubs short-measured

Too little, too late: Government announcement leaves pubs short-measured

Borough news
The Government will make the long-suffering publicans of ‘wet’ pubs, which do not serve food, a one -off payment of £1,000 for the month of December to compensate them in part for their loss of earnings during the Covid-19 closure, but the news has left Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader Councillor Howard Sykes MBE underwhelmed. In response, Councillor Sykes said: “This payment, though welcome, is a drop in the ocean compared to the loss of takings that publicans have suffered through the prolonged and repeated closure of their premises and the loss of trade they have suffered even when open which has been caused by all of the restrictions placed upon them. “Even if it were a £1,000 extra a month, every month it would not really touch the sides, but…
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30Nov 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Last orders for many Oldham pubs

Last orders for many Oldham pubs

Borough news
Oldham publicans will be able to summon up little festive cheer as they face a bleak mid-winter with the latest Christmas lockdown. In a speech in Parliament last week, Health Secretary Matt Hancock MP announced that the Borough will be in Tier-3 once the national lockdown ends at midnight on December 2 meaning that for the foreseeable future no pubs will be able to open. It is also unlikely to change when this is first reviewed in two weeks. The Oldham Liberal Democrats are concerned that for many struggling pubs another lockdown over what should be for publicans the busiest trading period of the year will lead to permanent closure. Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, wants to see the government do more to help struggling pubs. He…
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19May 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Lib Dems lead cross party push to keep pubs in business

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats are at the forefront of a cross party call to protect pubs in the face of the “unique combination of challenges” created by the Covid-19 crisis. Liberal Democrat MP Daisy Cooper, alongside MPs from the Tory, Labour, SNP, Plaid Cymru and Green parties, are calling for Ministers to ensure pubs  - a “cornerstone of British culture” - are in a position to reopen once social distancing measures are eased. The group have written to the Chancellor to demand bespoke support for the industry including calls to:  Scrap the £51,000 Rateable Value cap for pubs, allowing pubs to access the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund.Stop pubco landlords from charging rent to their tenants through the crisis.Extend the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for the hospitality sector for the duration of…
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