The future of Britain’s rural pubs is under serious threat.

Shocking figures released last week revealed that 2025 will see more than one pub close every single day.

More than 5,600 jobs will be lost from the estimated 378 pubs that are set to close this year across England, Wales and Scotland, according to the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA).

Pubs across the country play a vital role. They provide jobs to a great many people, and support a wide variety of other businesses, including breweries and butchers. Research has shown that the beer and pub industry supports more than 1,000,000 jobs across Great Britain.

Their economic value is clear: figures from 2024 show that the country’s beer and pub sector poured more than £34.4 billion into the economy and contributed more than £17.4 billion in taxes in just one year.

But equally important, or perhaps more so for pintmen such as myself, is their value as focal points of local communities. When groups of friends want to meet up for some down time, the first port of call is often a pub, whether that be for drinks on a Saturday afternoon, a warming Sunday roast, a mid-week pub quiz, or post-work pints.

Their importance as community hubs is all the more important in isolated rural areas. In big cities there may be different options available to people, but in towns and villages in the countryside, pubs are often one of the few, or perhaps only places that can provide a space for social interaction for those living in remote areas.

Despite the huge benefits pubs provide, however, government policies continue to hammer the pub sector.

Raises in National Insurance costs, cuts to relief on property tax, not to mention beer duty - the industry faces constant strains on their economic viability.

For some pubs, the burdens are simply too much. The Hungry Ram, in Penuwch, had to close at the end of last year after its owners decided it was no longer viable as a business, following last autumn’s Budget.

Owners Katie and Mike Parry-Evans stated: “The struggles for the hospitality sector since covid are well known and whilst we have attempted to save things there is sadly no more we can do, especially as the recent national budget was nothing less than a kick in the guts for small businesses.”

Pubs make an average of just 12p on every pint of beer, once taxes and costs have been deducted. The industry is one of the highest taxed sectors per pound of turnover in the country. Tax makes up forty percent of British brewing turnover and £1 in every £3 spent in pubs.

Emma McClarkin, the chief executive of the BBPA, said:

“For many (pubs), it’s impossible to make a profit, which all too often leads to pubs turning off the lights for the last time.

“When a pub closes, it puts people out of a job, deprives communities of their heart and soul, and hurts the local economy.”

Once our precious village pubs - the backbone of countryside communities – shut their doors, a piece of the rural fabric gets lost forever.

Earlier this year, the government made it even harder for rural pubs to be protected. The Community Ownership Fund, which had helped local groups to buy closure-threatened pubs, was closed early, with millions of pounds worth of grants remaining unallocated.

If we want to protect our countryside and our rural communities, it is vital that we do all we can to save our locals.

The Countryside Alliance supports the BBPA’s calls for the government to cut beer duty, mitigate new employment and EPR (extended producer responsibility) costs, and proceed with meaningful business rates reform.

Through our nationally recognised Countryside Alliance Awards scheme, the Alliance will continue to promote rural pubs and the invaluable service they provide to local communities.

But while the Countryside Alliance will continue to push the government to support the pub industry, all of us who care about rural pubs can do our own bit, and go down to our locals and enjoy a nice refreshing pint (or two) of beer.