Wetherspoon chairman, Tim Martin, has once again hit out at the government’s policy calling them “anti-Pub regulations”. With most of the country in tier 2 and requiring “substantial meals “ to be served for people visiting pubs and being instructed to leave once they have finished their meal he said: “The reckless and draconian anti-pub regulations continue to impact the hospitality industry with devastating effect.
“Wales today (Friday December 4) enters its fourth set of new regulations in the last few weeks. One set of regulations applied before the recent “firebreak”. A second set applied during the firebreak itself. A third set has applied in the brief period since the firebreak ended (which is different from pre-firebreak regulations). The fourth applies today, closing pubs at 6pm and banning the sale of alcoholic drinks, among other changes.
“In England, the situation is similar, with nearly half of Wetherspoon pubs closed and the rest, apart from 13 in tier 1 areas, trading as restaurants. In England, as in Wales, regulations have changed at random, almost on a weekly basis.
“The disturbing evidence from the “frontline” is that the constant changes are putting enormous and unfair pressure on pub managers and staff – these are the people who have to implement the rules and explain them to customers.
“Many report that sensible explanations are impossible, because the rules are so contradictory and absurd, especially in view of expenditure of tens of millions of pounds on Covid-19 safety measures by the industry.
“Two statistics stand out. One is that lockdowns simply don’t work, as most medics and scientists know. For example, Peru locked down in military style, but has had a higher mortality rate than Brazil, which didn’t lock down. Sweden hasn’t locked down and has a lower mortality rate than England, which has locked down twice.
“The second astonishing statistic is that the overall mortality rate in the UK this year, from all causes, is no higher than four years of the last 20, yet we did not lock down then, nor was it ever proposed.
“The world’s foremost expert in these areas of analysis is often regarded as John Ioannidis of Stanford University, who has calculated that the risk of Covid-19, for those under 70, is half that of flu.
“Yet the country is destined for many more months of lockdowns, quasi-lockdowns and regulations, causing havoc and misery, until the Government persuades the majority of people to accept a vaccine.”
