The Serious Politics of Pubs

And what it has to do with protecting democracy

I’ve been going on a pub tour of my constituency, visiting each one for a pint. Is this because I love a pint?

Well, yes. But it’s also about a serious political point

Pubs are an important place where we meet mates, laugh, unwind, socialise. (Or if you’re a nerd, they are places where we build social capital).

But pubs have been closing across the country and this decline is damaging our democracy.

When people have fewer places to socialise, they are more likely to turn to populism. That’s the finding from Diane Bolet’s brilliant paper. Pubs closing in post-industrial areas led to a rise in support for UKIP. Loneliness is similarly associated with populist voting in Europe and the United States.

Socialising is a key human need. Without a place to socialise, people are pushed out of society. In the same way that economic decline leads to more extreme political positions, so too does social decline. And the decline of pubs represents social decline.

Hannah Arendt wrote about the power of loneliness in fuelling extreme political movements. A world without friends is a more threatening place to be - “outsiders” become far more threatening. It’s a world without connection and, without connection to others, there is little meaning. When one is not part of society, one is alienated from it.

That lack of connection, rising alienation, and a lack of meaning have all led to a desire for wholesale social and political change. A rising demand for political change. It is wrong to see extreme political movements as just the outcome of a few leaders saying a few shocking things. For extreme words to have power, they need people to demand them as well as leaders to supply them.

In a world with fewer pubs, and so fewer mates, leaders that want to overturn the current order provide both meaning and connection. They provide an explanation for the world around us (“why don’t I have many mates”) as well as, at a basic level, a place to make friends.

So, yes, my pub tour does mean I get to have pints. But it’s also about a serious political point. That preserving our pubs is also about protecting our democracy.