A pub says pints will be 'pulled by candlelight' and TVs 'powered by generators' if necessary in a blunt cost of living crisis message to 'greedy' energy firms.
The expletive-laden message - posted on Twitter and Facebook by The Crown Inn in Middleton - has gone viral with more than 16,000 likes and many dozens of comments supporting the sentiment. Landlord, Kallum Nolan, told the Manchester Evening News later he was 'sick to death of working class communities being bullied by faceless corporate entities' and described pubs as the 'lifeblood' of communities.
The M.E.N. has already reported the fears for the future expressed by pub and restaurants over soaring energy price rises. The British Beer and Pub Association, UK Hospitality, Night-Time Industries Association, Music Venue Trust and The British Institute of Innkeeping jointly said rocketing costs were 'becoming a matter of existential emergency' and spoke of an average energy bill increasing by as much as 300 per cent.
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New Prime Minister, Liz Truss, announced plans to tackle rising costs on Thursday, saying energy bills would be frozen at £2,500 for two years as part of a package to ease the cost-of-living crunch, which will cost an estimated £150bn. The £400 rebate households are due to receive from October will remain in place, meaning the amount average households will pay over the next few months is close to the current £1,971 price cap.
A scheme for businesses, schools, hospitals, other public organisations and charities will 'offer equivalent support', but will last for just six months. That includes pubs. But The Crown Inn said the boozer on Rochdale Road in Middleton was facing a 200 per cent price increase in October.
Landlord Kallum told the Manchester Evening News: "People measure how expensive other countries are by the price of a pint - and we at The Crown have had to have two price increases in six months just to pay the bills.
"Pubs are sacred in this country. They're the lifeblood of our communities and it baffles me why it's so expensive to socialise these days. For the price of a pint in a pub, you can buy four cans from the supermarket. It's like a tax on socialising.
"This was before the pandemic, cost of living crisis and energy price increases. I'm sick to death of working class communities being bullied by faceless corporate entities - and even worse not being backed up by our government. It's time communities came together and fought back."
The post read: "In light of the current energy crisis, we at The Crown will have no choice but to tell energy firms to f*** right off. 200 per cent price increases in October. F****** sling it you greedy, money grabbing soulless t****.
"Beer will be pulled by candlelight and football will be shown on TVs powered by generators if need be. You've taken our health service, our police, our council services and many people's mental health. You're not taking our f****** pubs. Sling it."
The Crown Inn is predominately a football pub and the base of Middleton's Manchester United supporters' club.
The Prime Minister has promised six months' support for businesses struggling with bills, with targeted support for vulnerable firms beyond that, of which hospitality and particularly pubs were highlighted.
The plans were revealed after warnings earlier this week that tens of thousands of UK businesses could be forced to fold without help to address spiralling energy bills, with many hoping for more support.
Instead, they say they were left with questions because of the lack of details.
Paul Cook, 50, a director of The Angry Parrot Micropub in Cheltenham, said that as winter approaches, he was worried he 'won't get people through the door' and it could shut.
He said he was left with many questions following Ms Truss’s announcement of promised support for businesses. "How much will their bills increase by? Will they still increase? Will it still be silly money?” he asked.
"It's very vague. It’s only for six months. What happens after six months when it is the winter and people are cutting back because their bills have gone up significantly? It's not a win-win at all. It just leaves businesses in a bit of a limbo, really, because we just don’t know what’s going to happen."
Mr Cook said “pubs are more than just the beer and soft drinks”. He added: “It’s a community. It’s a place for people to come who maybe haven’t got family or have got family and just want to escape the general malaise of life and talk to people.
“We encourage that. It’s all about chatting and getting to know each other and inclusion.”
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