Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to allow pubs in England and Wales to stay open until 5am for England’s World Cup round-of-16 match against Mexico has been described as “out of touch with reality” by a former adviser to Andy Burnham, as major pub chains reveal that only a fraction of their venues will be able to take advantage of the extension.
Sacha Lord, who served as Greater Manchester’s first Night Time Economy Advisor under Mayor Burnham and now chairs the Night Time Industries Association, accused the Labour leadership of putting the hospitality sector “at the back of the queue”. Speaking to GB News, Lord said: “With only three days’ notice, how are you supposed to advertise it and staff it, let alone get another beer delivery in time? This should have been agreed weeks ago.” The game, which kicks off at 1am UK time on Monday 6 July at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, is expected to finish around 4am, even without extra time or penalties. Starmer announced the blanket relaxation of licensing hours on Thursday 2 July, using the Home Secretary’s powers to bypass the need for individual pubs to apply for Temporary Event Notices. The extension does not apply to Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Despite the prime minister’s assertion that the move was “good news for supporters and good news for the pubs and venues that bring our communities together”, the pragmatic response from the country’s biggest pub operators paints a different picture. A spokesperson for Wetherspoons confirmed that only five of its 800 pubs will be open for the match. Greene King, which runs around 2,600 pubs, restaurants and hotels, said just over 600 of its English sites will open. Both cited the difficulty of arranging last-minute staffing, the location of many pubs in residential areas, and concerns about noise disturbing neighbours. Some publicans have also pointed out that staff are reluctant to work the unsocial hours required to stay open until 5am, while the three-day notice period meant that advertising and stock orders, including beer deliveries, could not be organised in time.
Broader sector under pressure
The criticism over the World Cup decision is the latest flashpoint in a running dispute between the hospitality industry and the Labour government. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has faced sustained anger over tax rises that have squeezed margins even as energy costs and inflation stabilise. The employer National Insurance rate has been increased, the National Living Wage has been raised, and frozen NI thresholds have added to payroll costs. Meanwhile, the government has so far rejected repeated calls to cut the rate of VAT on hospitality from 20 per cent – the second highest in Europe – to 5 per cent, or even 10 per cent as recently implemented in the Republic of Ireland. The #VATsTheProblem campaign, spearheaded by chef Tom Kerridge, has gathered over 250,000 signatures.
Business rates have also proved a damaging flashpoint. While Reeves announced a reduction in rates for pubs, the ending of Covid-era reliefs combined with property revaluations meant many outlets faced increases of up to 76 per cent over three years. Although a subsequent U-turn promised reductions and freezes, critics warned the relief was “too little, too late” and that other hospitality businesses such as cafes and restaurants were left without similar support.
Lord’s attack also highlighted the sheer scale of the financial burden on the sector. UKHospitality estimates that Labour’s last two Budgets added £7 billion in extra taxes on hospitality businesses. The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) calculates that for every £3 spent in a pub, £1 goes directly to taxation, while beer duty in the UK is among the highest in Europe. The same organisation reported that the number of pubs in the UK fell from 46,829 in 2020 to 44,656 in 2025. Other figures show that 366 pubs were demolished or repurposed in the 12 months to December 2025, with 382 net closures in the final quarter alone. Across England, Scotland and Wales, 789 operators entered insolvency in the year to December 2025, and the BBPA estimates that 378 pubs will close in 2025, leading to more than 5,600 job losses.
Lord, who resigned as Greater Manchester’s Night Time Economy Advisor in January 2025 after Arts Council England requested the repayment of over £400,000 in Covid-era grant funding awarded to his company Primary Event Solutions (a sum he attributed to “unintended oversights” rather than deliberate misconduct), has previously boycotted the Labour Party conference over what he called “poor decisions being made from the top”. His latest intervention comes amid speculation that Andy Burnham could mount a challenge for the party leadership. “It sums up how hospitality has been put to the back of the queue under this leadership,” Lord added, “which, fortunately for the sector, looks like it’s coming to an end in two weeks.”
