South West Londoners face paying 30p more for their pint of beer at their local pub.
Prices could reach £6 to the dismay of drinkers and some landlords.
Publicans face no other option than a price hike because a shortage in hospitality staff following the end of the furlough scheme has prompted a wage increase.
There are 134,000 vacancies to fill across the sector.
Eight in ten pub landlords say they have increased their prices or plan to do so as costs are passed on to paying customers.
According to reports, the price of beer may rise even further as Rishi Sunak could announce duty increases in next Wednesday’s budget.
Pub landlords have appealed to the chancellor to freeze the alcohol duty rate in order to avoid the £6 pint becoming normal in London and the South East.
Leia Baker, 25, manager of the Royal Oak Pub in Twickenham said: “I really think that if the price of beer goes up again then no one will go out.
“It just encourages people to drink from home more than it would encourage people to go out and drink.
“Sunak did the eat out to help out scheme but if the price of beer goes up again through duty increases then that goes back on everything he tried to put in place.”
Drinkers in one pub were not happy.
Joey Pratt, 21, from Teddington said: “This is an absolute travesty. The price of a pint is already too high.
“The government should be encouraging our hospitality sector after a difficult eighteen months.”
Shanice Wainpole, 41, from Twickenham said: ‘I love a pint but paying £6 is too much.
“I’d rather get a four-pack from Costcutter and drink them at home than go to the pub.”
Peter Turner, 28, from Barnes added: “I don’t like it. An extra 30p might not be that much to some but it is a lot for me.”
Featured Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
