'Fun police': how pubs became a battleground in the culture war

PM dubbed 'no beer Keir' for reportedly considering smoking ban and early closing times, but does the nation's booze problem demand action?

Half empty and nearly empty pint glasses of beer on the bar of a pub
A British pint, at 568ml, is 'among the largest common beer servings in the world', bigger than in Germany, the US or Australia
(Image credit: John Rensten / Getty Images)

A culture war is brewing around an unlikely candidate: Britain's beloved pubs.

"Fun police" ministers are considering "nanny state" measures to reduce harmful drinking, The Telegraph first reported. Andrew Gwynne, the public health minister, said that the government is thinking of "tightening up the hours of operation" of bars and pubs to "boost the nation's health and tackle antisocial behaviour".

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  Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.