New polling by the British Beer and Pubs Association (BBPA) shows that two out of three see pubs as vital in the fight against isolation.
With loneliness on a par with peak pandemic levels, two in five say they have seen pubs close in their area, prompting calls for urgent support for the ‘cherished institution’ in the next Budget.
With pubs struggling under a heavy tax and regulatory burden, more than 2,000 have closed since 2020, and one is predicted to close every day in 2025.
The same poll found that, nationally, six in 10 are concerned about pub closures in their area, and seven out of 10 consider the pub important or very important for their local area’s social life.
The survey shows a regional picture of where people view pubs as a solution to isolation, and closely reflects where closures have hit hardest.
In the North of England, 71% of people agree that pubs are vital in tackling loneliness and isolation. In Wales, 64% feel the same, while in Scotland, 63% back the idea that pubs are part of the solution to the UK’s loneliness crisis.
Since 2021, the BBPA has recorded a net closure of 291 pubs across the North West, North East, and Yorkshire and The Humber; Wales has seen the net closure of 132 pubs, and Scotland 206.
According to the most recent Office of National Statistics figures from October 2025, 26%of Britons report feeling lonely at least some of the time. This figure has remained consistently high since records began in 2020, during the Covid pandemic.
Similarly 30% of people surveyed for the BBPA’s Long Live The Local campaign say they or someone they know has felt isolated and lonely due to the loss of their local pub.
The online survey of 2,000 UK adults aged 18 and over was conducted by Savanta between 25th and 28th July and was weighted by gender, age, region, and socio-economic group.
“This polling confirms that, for many, the local pub is a lifeline, not a luxury, and the loss of a pub can have a real and devastating impact,” said Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the BBPA.
“It’s made all the more concerning given our prediction that one pub will close every day this year, with heavy tax and regulatory costs often at the heart of why they’ve been forced to shut.
“The government must use this once-in-a-generation Budget to reset and reform the unfair tax burden and costs, which would help pubs keep their doors open and continue to fend off loneliness, which is affecting so many.”
Philip Howell, professor of historical and cultural geography at the University of Cambridge, and author of the book Pub, said: “When pubs are ripped out of communities and neighbourhoods, the damage to social cohesion is incalculable.
“With rapidly rising levels of loneliness, we need pubs more than ever. As the survey suggests, the cost of standing by and watching pubs close will be measured in even greater isolation and the fracturing of our communities.”
A September 2025 report from Pub is The Hub, the not-for-profit organisation that helps pubs to diversify and provide essential local services and activities, called Pub is The Hub: Social Value, established that for every £1 spent investing in the provision of services and activities in the pub, an average of £8.28 of social value is created.
It confirms that pubs offer social value that supports community cohesion, job security, wellbeing, increased social interaction, and resilient communities. The report also reveals that pubs help people to overcome social isolation and replace the loss of services in rural and deprived areas.
The BBPA is urging supporters to join Long Live the Local and email their MP before the Budget, calling for an overhaul of business rates, a duty cut in line with European averages, and action on spiralling regulatory costs.
