‘Don’t kill our pubs’ plea as North Wales MS warns partygoers could cross border to dodge alcohol ban

Partygoers from Wales travelling to Chester will cause more problems in terms of spreading the virus than keeping Welsh pubs open.

That’s the view of Plaid Cymru’s North Wales MS Llyr Gruffydd, who made an impassioned plea for the Welsh Government to re-think its no-alcohol policy for pubs throughout the country.

The call comes after ministers allowed travel between Wales and Tier 2 areas in England, which include Liverpool and Chester.

Mr Gruffydd said:”Staying safe and saving lives remains the top priority in this Covid-19 pandemic. Even with good news about new vaccines, it will take some months to roll those out to everyone.

“In the meantime we have to maintain a sensible balance in terms of allowing people to work and live. Penalising the hospitality trade – pubs, restaurants and cafés – after a terrible year will send many to the wall. Don’t kill our pubs.

“The impact of losing jobs and businesses will be terrible. And it makes no sense that people can meet in groups of four from different households for a coffee but two people from the same household can’t go for a pint!”

Mr Gruffydd added that many Welsh people living close to the border will hop on a train or bus to go to Chester or Liverpool to enjoy a Christmas meal or drink.

He said:”Mark Drakeford’s draconian no-alcohol policy has hit wet-sales pubs and food pubs alike and most will be closed now until the New Year.

“That makes no sense when the same government is permitting people to go across the border to Chester and further afield with the likelihood of greater transmission of the virus as a result.

“Security and safety in a well-run Welsh pub is going to be lower risk than catching the last bus home from Chester after a night out. It might not be the only thing you catch.”

Plaid Cymru is calling for a compromise that would allow licensed premises to serve alcohol and stay open until 8pm.

Earlier today, Wales’ health minister acknowledged some hospitality businesses may not bounce back from the latest round of restrictions imposed in a bid to slow the spread of Covid-19.

It comes as pubs, bars and restaurants in Wales will be banned from selling alcohol and forced at 6pm from today.

Yesterday the Welsh Government published the ‘evidence’ behind the decision to impose the tough new restrictions on hospitality with a collection of documents from its Technical Advisory Cell, Public Health Wales and official statistics.

The government also points to a UK government Cabinet Office policy paper called the “Transmission risk in the hospitality sector” which includes a number of links to documents from The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).

Mr Gething said: “We have looked at the impact of the firebreak …. and the significant additional evidence we’ve had since then.

“We have been comparing and contrasting the different measures in place across the UK that’s referred to SAGE papers on the 11th and 19th of November, which obviously post dates to firebreak.

“We’ve had a look at where our (infection) rates are going… yesterday the rates went up in 20 out of 22 local authorities in Wales, you can consider and try to see what’s happening in front of a period of time and then you have to act.”

Mr Gething said they decided to act based on the advice of the Chief Medical Officer “because we can see the pattern (of infections) going up.”

The health minister said: “Wales was an outlier within the UK, and indeed much of the Europe in maintaining hospitality opening with alcohol, and it was his advice ( Chief Medical Officer Dr Frank Atherton) that we needed to act, that’s backed up by the scientific advice.

“We have imperfect evidence in front of us, we’re not dealing with peer reviewed studies, we’re not dealing with a long look back at experience over many years in different parts of the world.”