Public Set to Avoid Pubs On New Year

The recession is forcing most people to stay at home on New Year's Eve after a year of cutting back on spending, new research has revealed. A survey of 2,000 adults by the Post Office showed more than two thirds were planning a night in, with most blaming a lack of money for not going out. Some of those questioned said they would prefer to be at home with their family, with only seven per cent definitely going to a pub or club to see in the New Year. – Press Association

Thousands of pub landlords are preparing a mutiny against suppliers in protest at the prices they pay for beer. The GMB union said it would ballot 25,000 'tied tenants' - licensees who buy exclusively from pub companies - about the possibility of industrial action. Britain's third-largest union says tied tenants pay premium rates for beer and will urge them to rebel by slashing the cost of a pint unless pub companies reduce their wholesale prices. – Daily Mail