Far-right landlord plans to sell pub

From the Lancashire Telegraph, first published Monday 20th Nov 2006.

A FAR-RIGHT councillor has put his pub on the market, blaming a drop in sales after the introduction of late night drinking laws.

Coun Michael Johnson, England First Party councillor for Fernhurst, branded speculation that the number of punters had fallen at his Uncle Jack's pub, Branch Road, Lower Darwen, due to his politics as "absolute garbage".

The leasehold of the pub comes with a price tag of £130,000 and is rented from Scottish and Newcastle brewery.

Coun Johnson said he was looking at other business opportunities after running the pub for more than 18 months.

The government introdu-ced new licensing laws a year ago which allowed pubs to stay open much longer than the traditional 11pm.

Before the change in the law, he said, most customers started arriving around 7.30pm whereas now they did not arrive until after 9pm.

He said he had extended his opening hours until 2pm but was unable to halt the "downward trend".

Coun Johnson also claimed the new laws had centralised drinking to town centres.

He said: "When the smoking ban comes in next summer it will kill us.

"I have been in this game for 20 years.

"I have got to look at the bigger picture when the no smoking laws come in. The days of pubs being pubs have gone."

Competition from pubs that had also acquired music and entertainment licenses in order to open later had also dented his takings, he said.

Coun Johnson denied the pub's fortunes had changed since he was elected for the England First Party in May this year.

He said: "The majority of my customers voted for me.

"This racist claim is absolute garbage.

"It's nothing to do with politics.

"I am a councillor but I don't push my politics on anybody.

"I am selling because of a downward trend across the board."

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