"Social distancing rules must go on 21st June": IEA expert responds to ONS data on UK pubs and bars sector

Responding to figures from the Office for National Statistics showing that 55 per cent of pub staff are still furloughed and only 24 per cent of pub owners have "high confidence" that their business will survive the next three months, Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at free market think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:

"The furlough scheme only protects employees if they have a job to go back to. With the rule of six and mandatory table service, many pubs are running at a loss and 25,000 licensed venues have still not reopened.

"It is absurd that people can cram themselves onto a train on their way to the cinema, but cannot stand outside a pub with a pint.

"It is imperative that all social distancing rules are abolished on 21st June. Pubs have been used as a scapegoat too often during the pandemic. They have shouldered an excessive burden for 15 months. In two weeks' time, everything must go."

Further IEA reading:

Pubs and COVID-19: Flawed claims and faulty reasoning by Christopher Snowdon