Why Do Pub Closures Boost Radical Right Support?

Insights from the Field

Community Pubs Dataset

Working Class Condition

UK Panel Data (2013–2016)

Drinking Alone: Local Socio-Cultural Degradation and Radical Right Support--the Case of British Pub Closures was authored by Diane Bolet. It was published by Sage in CPS in 2021.

This paper argues that local pub closures increase support for UKIP by signaling the decline of community and cultural identity.

## Data & Methods

* Exploits an original dataset on British community pub closures.

* Combines district-level data with UK panel data (2013â€“2016).

## Key Findings

* Individuals in districts experiencing one additional community pub closure are 4.3 percentage points more likely to support UKIP than other parties.

* The effect is larger under conditions of material deprivation.

## Significance

Pub closures represent a key mechanism linking local socio-cultural degradation and radical right voting behavior.