Can working men’s clubs survive the smoking ban?

Reactions to the smoking ban at a working men’s club

I pressed the buzzer on the wall of the darkened doorway of the Custom House Working Men’s Club in east London. It wasn’t clear whether the shabby building was open for business or not. I pressed again and waited.

In the early 1970s there were over 4,000 working men’s clubs in Britain. Today that number has halved to about 2,000. Recent hikes in the cost of gaming and drinking licences and loss of custom owing to the comparative cheapness of supermarket beer means that many of those that remain are struggling to make ends meet. Kevin Smyth, general secretary of the Club and Institutes Union, estimates that ‘a further 200 could have their fingers prised off the ledge’ as a direct consequence of the smoking ban. Anecdotal evidence indicates that takings have already fallen dramatically in some clubs. ‘It’s too early to tell at the moment how it’s going to go,’ says Mr Smyth, ‘but I certainly am worried about the future.’