Dr Peter Prinsley

Dr Peter Prinsley

Labour — Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket

Speaking in the House of Commons on 16 October 2026

Debate

Heritage Public Houses Bill

Contribution

I will come to that—[Laughter.] But I want to make a more serious point. As we know, sadly, many pubs have disappeared. I understand that we lost something like 7,000 pubs during the 14 years of Conservative rule, and we continue to lose them. Anyone who walks around our towns or drives through the country can see closed-down pubs, but habits have changed and laws have changed. Some of these laws are exceptionally good ideas. For instance, the law about drink-driving is an excellent idea and has saved thousands of lives. I recall my father, who was a physician, telling me years ago that if people were caught drink-driving following an accident when he was young, the fact that they were drunk was regarded as an excuse. Times have moved on considerably.

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