Phil Mellows does a number on Newham’s local pubs and bars

A stock image of a pub interior lit by sunlight — A stock image of an (unquantfied) pub. Photo: Caleb Woods/Unsplash

Contrary to my usual practice of crunching on a packet of crisps over a pint, today I’ve been crunching numbers instead. Before you look away and turn the page, these are numbers that relate to pubs, which always makes them more exciting.

The numbers come from the Greater London Authority’s pubs audit, now updated to 2023 and broken down by borough. They make especially interesting reading when it comes to Newham.

Before we start, bear in mind that the GLA uses a broader definition of pubs than, for example, the Campaign for Real Ale. It includes bars, many of which do not sell draught beer so don’t count as far as CAMRA is concerned.

First, the bad news. Since 2001, the furthest this data goes back, the Borough has lost more than half its pubs and bars, down from 105 to 50.

In fact, all of that fall came in the first decade of the century, a time when the pub trade faced what was then described as a ‘perfect storm’ of problems including the smoking ban, the economic crash and big pubcos in crippling debt.

The decline continued, at a slower rate, until 2018, when numbers dipped to a low of just 45 pubs and pubs. We still had Covid lockdowns to come, of course, but, with the help of government support, the trade proved remarkably resilient. In fact, the number of pubs and bars in Newham has bounced back up to 50.

Even more significantly, the GLA also records the number of people employed in the sector. In this respect, Newham holds a record. Between March 2020 and March 2023, despite everything, that 11 percent increase in venues brought a 33 percent rise in staff, the biggest in London.

The Borough’s 50 pubs and bars now employ 600 between them, exactly the same figure as 105 did in 2001. This happens for a few reasons. There are bigger businesses and, in general, the industry has become more professional. There are fewer ‘mom & pop’ operations, as the Americans call them, and a growth in food sales also requires more staff.

Of course, we might yet see more closures. Conditions still aren’t great. But these numbers show that the role of pubs and bars in providing local jobs has remained, remarkably, undiminished.

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