With clubs closing and the rise of no-alcohol Britain, is this the death of the big night out?
Big nights out on the town are an undeniable part of British culture – but are they about to be consigned to the memories of those of us born before the turn of the century?
Nightlife experts warn we’re losing one club every two days at the moment – and if we stay on this trajectory, we will have none left by 2030.
“The main reason we’re seeing nightclubs close is that midweek nights have completely fallen away and it’s mainly down to the cost of living,” says Sacha Lord, night-time economy adviser for Greater Manchester.
That was also the reason given by the owner of the UK’s biggest club chain when it announced a slew of closures earlier this month. Rekom, which owns popular club brands Pryzm and Atik, said it would be closing 17 venues because students hit by the cost of living crisis were cutting back on club nights.
Before the pandemic, Mr Lord explains, students would often be clubbing midweek – but now they’re having house parties instead to save money while they grapple with soaring rents and food prices.
“A nightclub business is not sustainable just on a Saturday night and a semi-good Friday night,” he says.
‘We used to hit the wine heavy – not so much now’
There’s another trend that is proving a challenge for nightlife businesses: Generation Z appears to be our most sober one yet.
The Portman Group’s 2023 annual survey with YouGov suggested 39% of 18 to 24-year-olds don’t drink alcohol at all.
While this is welcome in many ways, the UK’s ingrained booze culture means much of our night-time economy is centred around drinking.
Laura Willoughby, who runs Club Soda, an alcohol-free bar and shop, says older people are also starting to cut back on their drinking because they want a healthier lifestyle.
“We hit the wine quite heavy as women in that generation and we’re now hitting menopause so we’re looking to cut back,” she says.
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Laura Willoughby says people want choice more than anything. Pic: Club Soda
A recent report by hospitality research organisation KAM found 5.2 million fewer adults drank weekly last year than in 2021 – with three-quarters of adults moderating their alcohol intake to some extent.
Drinks expert Dan Whiteside believes the availability of information about the bad effects of alcohol and the rise of health influencers are also driving people to cut back.
“People have been going out less for quite some time,” he says.
“Clubs will probably become a thing of the past.”
What about the good old British pub?
Shifts in behaviour are also hitting pubs and restaurants.
It seems inconceivable that the British pub could suffer a similar fate to the nightclub, but experts say people drinking less and choosing to end their nights earlier are forcing many of these businesses to rethink their strategy.
Nearly 400 pubs in England and Wales closed their doors for good in the first half of 2023 – with many also blaming sky-high energy bills, soaring costs of ingredients and difficulties hiring staff.
Liam Davy, head of bars at steakhouse chain Hawksmoor, says: “I live in Hackney, which is one of the most vibrant boroughs in London in terms of late night economy. The number of late night businesses that have shut down or are really struggling, it really speaks to people doing things a little bit earlier.”
Liam Davy has seen a ‘big spike’ in sales of non-alcoholic drinks. Pic: Hawksmoor
So what will tempt customers back?
For Karl Considine, the “alternative choice” his alcohol-free cocktail bar offers appears to be a huge success.
Love From (@love.fromco) in Manchester is regularly packed with people sipping cocktails and enjoying a fun night out – but the difference is, everyone there is sober.
“I’m really clear on that we’re a night-time venue, not a daytime venue – we don’t do coffee, drinks or hot food,” he says.
Pic: Love From/@oliverlawsonfood
Mr Considine himself has struggled with alcohol addiction in the past, when he would find he could “never just have a quiet night” and would “always want to take it further”.
While Love From is a safe space for those in recovery, he is clear the bar is “absolutely” for everyone – including those who are drinkers but just want something different.
Karl Considine has struggled with alcohol addiction – and says his bar is a safe space for all. Pic: Love From/@oliverlawsonfood
Will alcohol-free bars become more popular?
Love From is not the only alcohol-free night-time venue to have popped up in recent years – among others, there’s also London’s LGBT club night House of Happiness and of course Club Soda.
But Ms Willoughby says she doesn’t think we’ll see a huge increase in alcohol-free venues like hers because “what people actually want is choice”.
Inside Club Soda in London. Pic: Club Soda
Many people are cutting down on alcohol rather than giving it up altogether, she says.
Club Soda runs workshops for retailers to learn about alcohol-free products, and those who ended up expanding their alcohol-free menus have seen their group bookings increase.
“Everybody wants to have a nice time – they don’t want to sit there with a tap water or a very sugary soda which they can only have one of – they want to participate fully,” she says.
No longer an afterthought
Low and no-alcohol products are now the fastest growing part of the industry.
Mr Whiteside says the amount and range of products has “exploded” in recent years, and they can be found in most bars and restaurants.
Meanwhile, Mr Davy says he’s seen a “big spike” in sales of non-alcoholic drinks.
His company has started paying more attention to that section of the menu “when to be honest in the past it might have been a bit more of an afterthought or something aimed at kids”.
Hawksmoor has started offering a wider selection of alcohol-free drinks – including this sour cherry no-groni. Pic: Hawksmoor
Although most pub and restaurant chains have adapted and now have better low and no-alcohol drinks menus, he says smaller businesses have been slower to make changes.
And of course it’s more difficult for nightclubs, which are arguably even more centred than alcohol than other businesses.
Then there’s that pervasive marketing problem – the perception that some of these products are overpriced, meaning people will instead opt for a cheap cola or lemonade when they’re not drinking.
So is there anything else businesses can do?
Mr Lord says he has been advising pubs to offer more event-based nights, such as darts or quizzes, to get people back in the door.
This is an opinion shared by Ms Willoughby, who says Generation Z is much more experience-led in their social lives.
“It’s not based around the strength of the drink in their glass and more about lovely evenings out,” she says.
A version of this feature recently appeared in our Money blog here.
Two senior Labour MPs have suggested the prime minister may have to go within months if the government continues to perform poorly.
Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates said his sources – a member of the government and a prominent politician – have “put Sir Keir Starmer on notice”.
Both warned that, if Labour performs badly in next May’s elections across Wales, Scotland and London, it could mark the end of his time in Downing Street.
Coates added: “The level of unhappiness and despair in parts of the Labour Party is so striking that right now, on the first anniversary, I am hearing from ministers in government that Starmer might have to go in months.”
Reform UK is surging in the polls in Wales, while Labour faces a threat from left-wing parties such as the Greens in London.
It comes as the prime minister made it clear that Rachel Reeves has his “complete support” as chancellor and remains integral to his project, Sky News’s political editor Beth Rigby understands.
She looked visibly upset during Prime Minister’s Questions, with a spokesperson claiming she had been affected by a “personal matter”.
A day earlier, Sir Keir’s controversial welfare bill was passed despite a sizeable rebellion from Labour MPs, with major U-turns meaning a new £5bn black hole has appeared in the country’s finances.
One senior figure told Rigby that the pair were as “as close politically” as any chancellor and prime minister have ever been.
“She is going absolutely nowhere,” they added.
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Welfare vote ‘a blow to the prime minister’
Ms Reeves’s tears sent markets spiralling, with the value of the pound and long-term government bonds falling sharply.
Later in the day Sir Keir, said Ms Reeves will be chancellor for a “very long time to come”.
The prime minister said it was “absolutely wrong” to suggest her tearful appearance in the Commons related to the welfare U-turn.
“It’s got nothing to do with politics, nothing to do with what’s happened this week. It was a personal matter for her,” he said while speaking to the BBC’s podcast Political Thinking with Nick Robinson.
“I’m not going to intrude on her privacy by talking to you about that. It is a personal matter.”
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Asked if she will remain in post, he said: “She will be chancellor by the time this is broadcast, she will be chancellor for a very long time to come, because this project that we’ve been working on to change the Labour party, to win the election, change the country, that is a project which the chancellor and I’ve been working on together.”
He said Ms Reeves has done a “fantastic job” and added: “She and I work together, we think together. In the past, there have been examples – I won’t give any specific – of chancellors and prime ministers who weren’t in lockstep. We’re in lockstep.”
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, also offered a strong defence for the prime minister and chancellor.
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Health Secretary: Reeves is ‘resilient’
He told Sky News this morning that Sir Keir has been “consistently underestimated” and was “of course” safe as prime minister.
And he said Ms Reeves was a “tough character” who was ” resilient” and “here to stay”.
Despite making “significant improvements”, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has lost the “trust and confidence” of some victims of grooming gangs, according to a report by the police watchdog.
Michelle Skeer, His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary, said that since 2019, when GMP started to review its non-recent child sexual exploitation investigations, “the force has improved its understanding and approach to investigating allegations of child criminal and sexual exploitation”.
The document, published today, said police have live investigations into “multi-victim, multi-offender” child sexual exploitation inquiries, involving 714 victims and survivors, and 1,099 suspects.
Grooming gangs scandal timeline
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‘Our chance for justice’
But despite recording improvements, a report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) also identified:
• Various training gaps within the investigation team
• Lack of consistency in evaluating case files between social care, health and police
• Failures to initially support victims meant they had “lost trust and confidence” in police
The report was commissioned by the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham in 2024 to evaluate whether police, councils and health services can protect children from sexual exploitation in the future.
Its release comes days after Sir Keir Starmer announced he was launching a new national inquiry into grooming gangs after previously arguing one was not necessary,
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Starmer to launch new grooming gang inquiry
The findings were issued as the final part of the CSE (child sexual exploitation) Assurance Review process which started in 2017. The first three reports examined non-recent child sexual exploitation in Manchester, Oldham and Rochdale.
Mr Skeer said that the force has been trying to improve its service to those who have experienced sexual exploitation, but previous failings have badly affected trust in GMP.
He said: “For some, trust and confidence in the police had been lost, and the force would not be able to rectify their experiences.
“It is vital that improvements are led by victims’ experiences, and if they do come forward, they are supported, protected and taken seriously.”
A recent report by Baroness Casey found a significant over-representation of Asian men who are suspects in grooming gangs in Greater Manchester, adding though authorities are in “denial” more needs to be done to understand why this is the case.
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Teen caught in child sex exploitation
Inspectors also said there were “training gaps” in some investigation teams and issues with data sharing, with local councils sometimes not willing to provide detectives with information, leading to “significant delays in investigations” into grooming gangs.
It cites problems with intelligence provided by Manchester City Council, which took months to arrive and “was so heavily redacted that some pages contained only a few words”, the report said.
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GMP is the only force in the country to set up a dedicated team to investigate grooming gangs. Called the Child Sexual Exploitation Major Investigation Team (CSE MIT) it has about 100 staff and a ringfenced budget.
In October 2024, the force told inspectors there were 59 live multi-victim, multi-offender child sexual exploitation investigations, of which 13 were being managed by the CSE MIT.
The report adds: “The force fully accepts that it made mistakes in the past.
“It has taken positive and effective steps to learn from these mistakes and improve how it investigates recent and non-recent child sexual exploitation.”
Separately, the Baird Inquiry published in July 2024 found officers at GMP were abusing their power – making unlawful arrests, unlawful and demeaning strip searches, sometimes treating victims as perpetrators, and traumatising those who have suffered sexual abuse or domestic violence.
The health secretary has offered a strong defence of the prime minister and chancellor – ahead of Sir Keir Starmer setting out his 10-year vision for the NHS.
PM ‘might have to go in months’ – politics latest
Wes Streeting dismissed suggestions the prime minister could be forced out in months following the toughest week of his premiership yet, and described Rachel Reeves as “resilient” and would “bounce back” following her tearful appearance in the Commons on Wednesday.
Overnight, two senior sources – a member of the government and a prominent politician – told Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates that they had “put Sir Keir Starmer on notice”.
The health secretary, who was speaking as Sir Keir prepares to set out his 10-year vision for the NHS, said the prime minister had been “consistently underestimated”.
Asked by Kamali Melbourne on Sky News Breakfast whether Sir Keir was “safe”, Mr Streeting said: “Of course.
“Keir Starmer has been consistently underestimated. I wonder when people will learn.
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Reeves has ‘complete support’
“They said he couldn’t win the Labour leadership, but he did. They said he couldn’t change the Labour Party, but he did.
“They said he couldn’t take the Labour Party from its worst defeat since the 1930s to election victory last year. And he did and now the cynics say he can’t change the country, but he will.”
As for Ms Reeves – whose tearful appearance in the Commons spooked markets after the prime minister initially failed to back her, Mr Streeting said the chancellor was a “tough character” who was “resilient and she will bounce back”.
The health secretary declined to expand on why Ms Reeves was in the chamber at all yesterday, repeating that it was a personal matter.
“Rachel Reeves as chancellor is here to stay,” he continued.
“We need her to get the economy from strength to strength, to make sure that family finances are in better health than we were when we came into office.”
Speculation about the futures of the two most senior members of the government threaten to overshadow the announcement today, which the government says is “one of the most seismic shifts” in the health service’s history.
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Why has Starmer axed NHS England?
Sir Keir will pledge three main facets of the plan: moving care into the community, digitising the NHS, and a focus on sickness prevention.
The prime minister will announce neighbourhood health services will be rolled out across England to improve access to the NHS and to shift care out of overstrained hospitals.
Sir Keir has already promised thousands more GPs will be trained, and to end the 8am “scramble” for an appointment.
He also previously said his government will bring the NHS into the digital age, with “groundbreaking” new tools to support GPs rolled out over the next two years – including AI to take notes, draft letters and enter data.
And he will promise new contracts that will encourage and allow GP practices to cover a wider geographical area, so small practices will get more support.
Unite, one of the UK’s largest healthcare unions, welcomed the plan cautiously but said staff need to be the focus to ensure people are better looked after.
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‘Reform or die’
Sir Keir said: “The NHS should be there for everyone, whenever they need it.
“But we inherited a health system in crisis, addicted to a sticking plaster approach, and unable to face up to the challenges we face now, let alone in the future.
“That ends now. Because it’s reform or die.”
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Neighbourhood health services
The newly announced neighbourhood health services will provide “pioneering teams” in local communities, so patients can more conveniently access a full range of healthcare services close to home.
Local areas will be encouraged to trial innovative schemes like community outreach door-to-door to detect early signs of illness and reduce pressure on GPs and A&E.
The aim is to eventually have new health centres open 12 hours a day, six days a week to offer GP services as well as diagnostics, post-operative care and rehab.
They will also offer services like debt advice, employment support, stop smoking help or weight management.
More NHS dentists
Dentists will also be part of the plan, with dental care professionals part of the neighbourhood teams.
Dental “therapists” will carry out check-ups, treatments and referrals, while dental nurses could give education and advice to parents or work with schools and community groups.
Newly qualified dentists will be required to practice in the NHS for a minimum period, which they have said will be three years.
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