Nigel Evans this week attended an event to celebrate British Pub Week.
The event was attended by MPs, peers, journalists, volunteers and individuals from the pubs sector and also Community Pubs Minister Andrew Percy to mark British Pubs Week.
British Pub Week 2016 falls Friday, 28th October to Saturday, 5th November this year.
It aims to celebrate the importance of the great British pub and its role at the heart of communities across the UK.
Founder of British Pub Week, Inez Ward, and the Chair of the parliamentary Save the Pub group, Greg Mulholland MP, co-hosted yesterday’s event which was held in the Red Lion on Parliament Street in Westminster.
A parliamentary motion to celebrate British Pub Week has also been tabled and has received cross-party backing.
Speaking from Westminster, Nigel said,
“It is absolutely vital that we support pubs across the country. There is nothing sweeter than spending time at your local pub and it would be a terrible shame if this practice was lost. If the rate at which pubs are closing in this country continues, the final British pub would close its doors around 2040. That is a sobering prospect in more ways than one!
“It is for this reason that I am celebrating the Great British pub. Pubs support over 750,000 jobs in this country and bring in a great deal of tourism. I call on residents of the Ribble Valley, and indeed, the rest of the country, to visit their local to help celebrate this most British of pastimes.”
Nigel’s sentiment was echoed by Community Pubs Minister Andrew Percy MP:
“It was great to be at the British Pub Week event held in the Red Lion. It was an excellent way to celebrate the role of pubs up and down the country, so well done to Inez Ward and Greg Mulholland for organising it. I would certainly encourage colleagues and pubgoers to make a special trip to their pub this week to celebrate what it does for their community. That’s what British Pub Week is all about and I wish this annual event success in future years.”
The upcoming Christmas periods is one of the busiest times for the pubs sector and many are looking forward to it.