PM Considers Extending Pub Hours for 1am England Match
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- Prime Minister Keir Starmer is now considering extending pub licensing hours for England's World Cup round-of-16 match against Mexico, a 1am UK-time kickoff in Mexico City, after the government initially said it would not relax rules further.
- Business Minister Kate Dearden told the House of Commons earlier Thursday that opening times would not be extended for the 1am start, but said Local Government Secretary Steve Reed had written to councils encouraging them to sign off on late openings.
- The match at the Azteca Stadium may not finish until 3am or later with extra time and penalties, and falls outside the current rules that allow pubs to stay open until 1am for kickoffs between 5pm and 9pm, or until 2am for kickoffs from 9pm to 10pm.
- Pubs seeking to stay open outside the standard rules must apply for a Temporary Event Notice (TEN) no later than five working days beforehand — a deadline that has already passed for the Monday match.
- Steve Reed posted a video on X urging councils to approve applications, saying: "There are still some councils that are saying no to the pubs, and my message to those councils is please say yes."
- The British Beer and Pub Association said it was "a crying shame" if fans and pubs couldn't host such an important match, while the Mayor of London's office confirmed he is encouraging London councils to allow extended openings.
Why it matters: The licensing-hours gap leaves pubs that didn't pre-apply for a TEN unable to show the full match legally, costing them potential revenue on a marquee game. With government ministers now publicly lobbying councils to grant extensions, a formal policy change could arrive before Monday's 1am kickoff, directly benefiting England's 39,000+ pubs and the match-going economy they support.
