Andy Burnham’s ex-adviser has accused Prime Minister Keir Starmer of being “out of touch with reality” over his last-minute decision to allow pubs to stay open past 1 pm for England’s World Cup match against Mexico next week.
Sacha Lord, who served as Greater Manchester’s first-ever Night Time Economy Advisor during Mr Burnham’s mayorship, took aim at the Labour Government’s treatment of the hospitality sector during its two years in office.
Yesterday, Sir Keir confirmed that pubs are permitted to remain open until 5 am on Monday, July 6, with the game kicking off at 1 am UK time.
Despite this decision, some of Britain’s biggest pub groups have revealed only a certain number of their sites will be able to remain open for the match.
The former Andy Burnham adviser accused the Labour Government of putting the hospitality sector at the ‘back of the queue’
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GETTY / GB NEWS
Among them include Wetherspoons and Greene King, with representatives citing issues with arranging last-minute staffing and being based in residential areas.
A spokesperson for Wetherspoons noted that “only five of the 800 Wetherspoon pubs will be open” for the match in the early hours of Monday morning.
Greene King, which operates around 2,600 pubs, restaurants and hotels, shared that just over 600 pubs across England will remain open.
Speaking exclusively to GB News, Mr Lord said: “To me, this just highlights once again how the current leadership is out of touch with the reality of running a hospitality business.
Mr Lord served as Greater Manchester’s Night Time Economy Advisor
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LGBT CONSERVATIVES“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.
“It sums up how hospitality has been put to the back of the queue under this leadership, which, fortunately for the sector, looks like it’s coming to an end in two weeks.”
Publicans and the wider hospitality sector have slammed the Labour Government over various tax hikes and business reforms rolled out by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
During her Budgets, Ms Reeves has opted to raise the National Living Wage and increase the employer National Insurance rate, and so far rejected calls to bring VAT charged on hospitality down from 20 per cent to five per cent.
Sir Keir Starmer has allow pubs to stay open for Monday’s game
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PA/REUTERSWhile her policies have bolstered Treasury coffers, critics argue the Chancellor has handicapped the hospitality industry when it needs support the most from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Earlier this year, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) stated that the number of pubs in the UK had dropped from 46,829 in 2020 to 44,656 in 2025.
When announcing the pub opening time extension, Sir Keir said: “Football might be coming home but we’re making sure fans don’t have to.
“Pubs staying open till the final whistle is good news for supporters and good news for the pubs and venues that bring our communities together. The whole country will be backing the team. Come on England.”
