'A gunshot to an already dying sector' – Christmas bubbles to be barred from meeting in pubs or bars

Bar and pub owners across the country have reacted with dismay to the news that Christmas bubbles will not be allowed to meet in pubs, bars or restaurants over the festive period.

While the Government has allowed the mixing of three households over the Christmas period (December 23 to 27), these newly formed bubbles will not be allowed to go to the pub for a Christmas Eve pint.

Restrictions covering meetings inside hospitality settings will instead depend on what tier of restrictions in England a venue is in, and the rule of six will still apply. Many business owners have pointed out the apparent irrationality of this, with those within Christmas bubbles being able to visit each other's homes and stay overnight during that period, regardless of the tier.

For those in the hospitality sector, this news is particularly galling. Industry experts have warned repeatedly this year of the challenges pubs and bars are facing, being forced to close for months early in the year, navigate reopening under social distancing rules, and then face a 10pm curfew before being forced back into lockdown this month.

Calling the new rules for Christmas “a gunshot to an already dying sector,” Mario Sandgren, who works in operations at a London bar, blasted the decision to exclude hospitality from the loosening of restrictions around Christmas. “Many venues make a significant amount of their earnings during this important time of the year.”

While the curfew will move from 10pm to 11pm from December 2 for those in Tier 1 (where groups of six or fewer will be able to meet indoors), this offers little comfort in the face of other tougher tiers coming into force for large parts of the country.

Much of the North of England is expected to go into Tier 3, where bars and pubs will be closed unless for takeout services. Those in Tier 2 will be allowed to serve alcohol indoors, but only with a meal and to groups from the same household, leaving wet-led venues out in the cold.

Many point out that there is little sense in allowing mixing in private homes, but not in regulated venues. “We have been as Covid secure as we can get,” said Neil Smith, licensee of The Shannon Inn in Bucklesham, “I’ve just walked around our local Tesco and I’m utterly convinced it’s safer to sit and have a meal in our pub.”

“No other sector seems to have this scrutiny upon them,” agreed Sandgren. “I've never had to sign in to a supermarket. And I doubt Christina in Guildford will have printed track and trace posters on her front door, or be taking the temperature of her uncle or neighbour when they come by for Christmas dinner.”

“To continue having hospitality as the only industry with its hands tied stings more with each new announcement,” added Simon Thompson, the owner of Present Company in Liverpool. The city was placed in Tier 3 before the current lockdown. “Everyone in our industry has bent over backwards to comply and keep venues safe, but when was the last time you’ve seen a self service machine in Tesco get sanitised between uses? You don’t see supermarkets getting reprimanded in the same way.”

“It hasn’t been thought through,” said Jamie Baxter, the co-owner of two Leicester bars. “There is no evidence that bars pose an increased risk of infection. The figures suggest the opposite is true with just three per cent of infections being traced back to hospitality venues.”

This figure come from Public Health England (PHE), and has been widely cited by the hospitality industry as an example of the lack of reasoning behind closing or restricting pubs and bars, given that schools, universities and workplaces, which have been allowed to remain open, are responsible for significantly more infections.

“Because they are easing restrictions in some areas they want to be seen to have some semblance of control and command in other areas and hospitality has been the victim of this,” said Romilla Arber, owner of Honesty Group, which runs The Crown and Garter in Inkpen and The Hartley Arms in Donnington.

“The Government has throughout this pandemic veered from nonsensical decision to nonsensical decision. The Eat Out to Help Out being one extreme, the 10pm curfew another and then this latest decision the latest example.”

“It feels like the blind leading the blind,” said Richard Wynne, the owner of Callooh Callay, a top London bar, of the Christmas relaxation rules. “This shows a real lack of courage in leadership. No real thought has gone into any of this and each week we get numbers from PHE saying hospitality is responsible for around two to three per cent of infections and yet we are dealt the worst hand when it comes to restrictions.”

Sly Augustin, owner of London’s Trailer Happiness bar, was similarly cutting about the Government’s decisions on hospitality. “The second lockdown happened because the Government ignored the facts presented, instead choosing to waste a month with arbitrary curfews and regulations leading to an inevitable second lockdown. I'm surprised by their current stance but, sadly, I'm also not.”

“Even considering all the bad news that’s come our way in recent months, I’m still shocked at this,” added Thompson. “If you’re ‘lucky’ enough to be told your area is in Tier 1 tomorrow then it’s a lottery win. Some semblance of trade to try and salvage something at the end of the year. Other than that it’s pretty much a disaster.”

Thomas Hay-Owens, general manager of The Old House in Sheffield, detailed his confusion over the contradicting set of rules: “I still fail to understand how the Government can justify delivering, potentially, the final nail in the coffin to independent businesses who strongly and perhaps solely rely on Christmas trade to keep them afloat, whilst also campaigning to support ‘Great British Businesses’."

Outside England, other parts of the UK are still waiting to hear a verdict from their local government on what Christmas will look like for them. In Wales, things are looking up for hospitality, with bars and pubs allowed to reopen after the end of the country’s circuit breaker lockdown on November 9. Households are currently only allowed to meet in public spaces, including pubs and bars - the opposite of what will be in place over Christmas.

“Wales, as ever, is a bit in limbo,” said Alexander Taylor, a Cardiff-based bar owner. “We have four households mixing in bars at the moment, but obviously this is highly regulated and, in theory, tightly controlled to keep people safe – as opposed to meeting in your house and your nan licking her finger before trying to remove an imaginary dirty spot from your cheek.”

Taylor noted that households being allowed to mix privately over Christmas is supposed to be UK-wide rule, but pointed out that the Celtic nations are still in talks over this, with worries abounding over being ‘bulldozed’ by Westminster.

Scotland is expected to make its own announcement soon that it will follow England in allowing households to mix in private over Christmas, again causing consternation among Scottish bars and pubs, many of which remain closed due to ongoing Covid measures.

“Nicola Sturgeon’s approach to Christmas is unreasonable, and contradicts the punitive measures she has inflicted upon the Scottish hospitality trade,” said Kirstie Addis, co-owner of Glasgow bar, Kelvingrove Cafe. “The science behind the news that allows households to mix over Christmas, but restaurants, bars, and cafes to remain closed in Glasgow is antithetical.”

Of course, there are those who question the wisdom of allowing households to mix indoors at all, a continued debate within the UK. “It is really concerning that a disregard for Covid at Christmas is going to lead to further lockdowns in the new year,” said Smith. “Why sacrifice potentially many businesses for just a couple of days. It makes a mockery of the sacrifice given so far this year.”

“It feels a little unfair that we have households mixing for Christmas but we didn't do this for other religious holidays,” added Taylor. “I know it is because 'we're a Christian nation' but, since when do people celebrate Christmas for religious reasons? Churches aren't exactly bursting at the seams Christmas day are they.”