Scottish pub closures blamed on supermarket prices: more expected

Supermarket beer prices are held responsible for pub closures and many more closures are expected.

Nothing if not opportunist I added the following comment to the Express;

I am author of petition 01451 at the Scottish Parliament, 'review the smoking ban' open for signatures until 22 October. The smoking ban was brought in with the promise that non-smokers would fill the pubs if smoke were no longer a problem. Someone didn't do their market research properly, as the pub's traditional customers were used to the differential between supermarket and pub prices but people the pubs were now trying to woo were not used to them. And many smokers no longer cared to pay the differential now that they were shunted outdoors throughout the evening. 

Public pressure to bring in minimum pricing will not benefit pubs in the near term, because the European Union will fight them. Far better to take advantage of modern air standards and air cleaning technology and enable the hospitality trade to cater for smokers again.

It is nothing short of madness to expect that minimum pricing will bring relief to the bar trade in the near future. Europe will fight it.

This is the answer! Please sign and share.