Ministers are being urged to back a radical new vision for Britain's pubs, where they are owned by the communities they serve rather than distant corporate shareholders.
The Red Lion: A Blueprint for Success
The call was made by Labour MP Alistair Strathern during a visit to the Red Lion in Preston, Hitchin, celebrated as the UK's first community-owned pub. This historic establishment was rescued from being turned into a steakhouse chain in 1983 when local residents banded together, buying individual shares to purchase the venue.
It has remained in community hands ever since, thriving as a vital social hub. "You couldn’t ask for a better example of a cracking local pub than the Red Lion, which has served Preston for centuries," said Hitchin MP Mr Strathern.
The Power of the Community Right to Buy
Strathern argued that the secret to the pub's longevity is its ownership model. "But it was community ownership that saved this pub, and now it is owned and run by the people who love it most," he stated.
He linked its success to Labour's policy of promoting community ownership, highlighting the Community Right to Buy. This mechanism gives community groups first refusal to buy local assets like pubs when they come up for sale, blocking private buyers for a period of six months.
"The Community Right to Buy will help us save many more pubs like this one, and safeguard them for the future," Strathern added.
A National Movement for Pub Survival
The Co-operative Party, which organised the visit, strongly advocates for this model. Its General Secretary, Joe Fortune, said: "Community ownership keeps important community spaces alive, at a time when so many have closed their doors."
He emphasised that this approach puts power directly into local hands, "rather than distant profit-driven shareholders," and called for the removal of blockers to such ownership.
The pub's current landlord, Ray Lambe, attested to the model's benefits: "The village owns this pub so they are incentivised to come here, and it's got a much stronger community spirit because of that."
The push aligns with longstanding campaigns, like the Mirror's 'Your Pub Needs You', which calls for better support for pubs as essential community assets. The message from Preston is clear: to survive and thrive, the future of the British pub may need to be owned by the people who drink in it.
