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marmar

(79,957 posts) Tue May 5, 2026, 09:47 AM 5 hrs ago

'Nobody's going out!' Why is Britain's nightlife in such decline - and can anything save it?

(Guardian UK) The £5 entry is a good start. So is the loud, lively music booming down the nightclub’s stairway. But when I finally reach the dancefloor, hidden behind a curtain, my hopes for a wild night out in Birmingham are dashed. Despite the roving disco lights and blaring pop bangers, it is entirely empty, aside from a few bartenders milling around, tending to no one.

This isn’t 9pm on a random Tuesday. I am hitting the town on Saturday night, when the city’s bars and clubs should be in full swing, but Birmingham is looking like a bust.

Perhaps this was to be expected. The nightlife sector in the UK has declined massively in recent years. More than a quarter of all late-night venues across the UK shut their doors for good between 2020 and 2025, according to the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) – and the “second city” has been hit particularly hard. Birmingham experienced a 28% drop in the number of bars, clubs and other establishments to grab a late-night drink in over the same period, the largest decline of any major UK city.

As well as soaring bills, business rates and staff costs, pubs and nightclubs are contending with an increasing number of people shunning alcohol. Earlier this year, an NHS survey found that one in four adults in England don’t drink alcohol, with the West Midlands (where Birmingham is located) and London having the highest proportions of non-drinkers. So, how bad is it and can the Saturday night out survive? ...................(more)

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/may/05/why-is-britains-nightlife-in-decline

9 replies

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'Nobody's going out!' Why is Britain's nightlife in such decline - and can anything save it? (Original Post) marmar 5 hrs ago OP

What about drugs??!!? There's always drugs!! underpants 4 hrs ago #1

Maybe because young brits have left Britain in droves because of the Baitball Blogger 4 hrs ago #2

Nobody can buy here unless they're minted r�is�n_dubh 2 hrs ago #3

If Britain was attentive to their people Baitball Blogger 2 hrs ago #4

Or that fact that when they elect Labour Miguelito Loveless 2 hrs ago #5

Not one word about Covid's effect on venues, though 2020 is mentioned as the date a lot of venues highplainsdem 2 hrs ago #6

I noticed that the decline started in 2020 senseandsensibility 1 hr ago #7

Birmingham is also heavily Muslim fujiyamasan 1 hr ago #8

Must be why it's tough to get into any pub GenThePerservering 1 hr ago #9

underpants

(197,001 posts)

1. What about drugs??!!? There's always drugs!!

Reply to marmar (Original post)

Tue May 5, 2026, 10:58 AM

4 hrs ago

Baitball Blogger

(52,632 posts)

2. Maybe because young brits have left Britain in droves because of the

Reply to marmar (Original post)

Tue May 5, 2026, 10:59 AM

4 hrs ago

policies left by the Tories have made it difficult for them to buy homes and settle down?

r�is�n_dubh

(12,379 posts)

3. Nobody can buy here unless they're minted

Reply to Baitball Blogger (Reply #2)

Tue May 5, 2026, 12:20 PM

2 hrs ago

My other half earns very good money for a Brit (north of £50K). I don’t earn much but we have a decent combined salary. However, his parents did not leave him any money for a down payment and it is impossible to save for a deposit if you’re renting, paying child support, taxes, fuel etc. We can more than afford a mortgage but the housing prices are so fucking outlandish that to save for a deposit, we’d have to live in a van. And we’re in our 40s.
The UK is fucked and Labour isn’t doing anyone favours either (I’m an immigrant and Labour will never get a vote from me-ever- when I’m eligible). If I had an EU passport, we’d move to Ireland, where at least wages are much better for my work. The weather is still shit, but we’re used to it.

Scotland is cheaper, but not by much anymore.

Baitball Blogger

(52,632 posts)

4. If Britain was attentive to their people

Reply to r�is�n_dubh (Reply #3)

Tue May 5, 2026, 12:25 PM

2 hrs ago

You would think they would already know this.

Miguelito Loveless

(5,862 posts)

5. Or that fact that when they elect Labour

Reply to Baitball Blogger (Reply #2)

Tue May 5, 2026, 12:50 PM

2 hrs ago

they just seem to cling to Tory policies.

highplainsdem

(62,846 posts)

6. Not one word about Covid's effect on venues, though 2020 is mentioned as the date a lot of venues

Reply to marmar (Original post)

Tue May 5, 2026, 01:03 PM

2 hrs ago

started closing.

Not one word about smartphone addiction having resulted in many younger people feeling too awkward about socializing in person. They do quote a 57-year-old saying "People from the age of 30 down don’t go out" - but they don't explain why those younger people prefer phones to meeting in person.

And cost is a factor.

senseandsensibility

(25,401 posts)

7. I noticed that the decline started in 2020

Reply to marmar (Original post)

Tue May 5, 2026, 01:05 PM

1 hr ago

Sounds to me like they never came back from Covid.

fujiyamasan

(1,969 posts)

8. Birmingham is also heavily Muslim

Reply to marmar (Original post)

Tue May 5, 2026, 01:10 PM

1 hr ago

I’d be curious to see the percentage of non drinkers adjusted for these demographic shifts.

I wouldn’t be surprised if there have been changing attitudes toward alcohol in the UK among younger people, just as there have been here in the US.

GenThePerservering

(3,603 posts)

9. Must be why it's tough to get into any pub

Reply to marmar (Original post)

Tue May 5, 2026, 01:27 PM

1 hr ago

in Norwich, York, Exeter, London, etc.

They're full. And that's ANY night.

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