LABOUR politicians in Stroud are appealing for changes in the law to support small pub landlords, echoing calls made by their party nationally.

Former MP and current Labour district councillor David Drew wants to see a statutory code introduced to give small landlords greater protections from large pub chains, known as PubCo’s.

“About 26 pubs are closing every week in Britain and part of the problem is that the large chains of pub companies have been accused of giving landlords a raw deal, making them pay over the odds for products and restricting what products they can buy,” said Mr Drew.

“I support the call from Labour MPs for legislation in this year’s Queen’s Speech to support pubs – a statutory code to protect small landlords from exploitation.”

Mr Drew’s call for action has been backed by Stroud district councillor Gary Powell, a Labour representative for Stonehouse.

“Pubs are vital hubs for so many communities and we have had our share of pub closures in my town," he said.

“Pubs provide jobs as well as somewhere for local people to meet and socialise. Having a statutory code that PubCo's have to follow means pubs can be run by landlords who have the freedom to provide their customers with more variety and who are much less likely to end up with financial problems leading to the pub being at risk of closure.”