46% of Public Say Reopening Pubs Was Wrong Thing to Do

 “I do accept that what we’re doing is extraordinary: we’re taking away the ancient, inalienable right of free-born people of the United Kingdom to go to the pub, and I can understand how people feel about that.”

With these words the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced in March that pubs would have to close as part of the initial national lockdown in the UK to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ever since pubs began to open again, their role in the fight against COVID has been under considerable scrutiny, with the Government actively encouraging people over the summer to go out and support the country’s hospitality industry.

By the end of last month however the Prime Minister took the decision that all pubs needed to be closed by 10pm, a decision which many now question as we have witnessed scenes of town and city centres packed with little social distancing as pub goers are all turfed out at the same time.

But what does the public think of the Government’s approach to the traditional British pub in the fight against coronavirus?

According to new polling by YouGov 46% of people believe it was wrong to allow pubs to reopen after the national lockdown was lifted. This compares to 41% who said it was the right thing to do. Perhaps not surprisingly, among those who voted Conservative at the 2019 general election, there was much greater support for opening the pubs, with 53% saying it was right to open them again, compared to 38% who thought it was the wrong thing. Those who voted Labour and Liberal Democrat however were more likely to say that it was wrong for the pubs to have reopened.

With images of many students at universities across the country having to self-isolate in halls of residence meanwhile, 45% of those YouGov questioned said it was wrong to allow students to return to universities, with 40% saying it was the right thing to do.

That said the Government can draw comfort from public support for schools having reopened and the Eat Out to Help Out scheme (although Labour voters from 2019 were more sceptical about this).

When it comes to work, with the Government having last month returned to advising people to work from home if possible, 47% said it was the right thing to do during the summer to encourage people to return to their place of work, with 41% opposing it. However, whilst Conservative voters from 2019 were very clearly supportive of such efforts, 60% of Labour voters, and 51% of those who voted Liberal Democrat said encouraging people to return to their work places was the wrong thing to do.

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