A Labour Minister has defended new drink-driving rules after Labour’s latest change started to fuel fear among British pub owners.
Joining GB News this morning, Lilian Greenwood outlined how ministers are due to be consulted on whether to cut the limit from 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath to 22 micrograms in England and Wales.
But the new road safety crackdown means a single alcoholic drink could push some pubgoers over the limit, particularly women due to their smaller size.
The change has been construed as a potential new assault on rural pubs in areas where it is necessary to drive.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the move as a “death knell for country pubs across Britain” and accused Labour of having “no connection to how real life works”.
The industry has already been battered with crippling losses, with an average of one watering hole shutting its doors for good every day across 2025.
Nevertheless, lauded as “good, sensible, firm decisions that probably should have been made long before now” by presenter Eamonn Holmes, the Labour MP ardently defended the new legislation.
Ms Greenwood said the Government has recorded approximately four people every day who are killed in road traffic collisions, a figure which has “stalled for the last 10 to 15 years”.
“Yet we know that many road traffic collisions are preventable,” she told GB News.
The move has been described as a ‘death knell’ to Britain’s hospitality industry
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GETTY/GB NEWS
The Transport Minister added the figure was “unacceptable” and required “tough action” to address the stagnant figure.
This morning the Government announced it would set targets for a 65 per cent reduction in the number of those killed and seriously injured on British roads by 2035.
The goal for children is even higher, sitting at 70 per cent for those under 18.
The MP explained: “In order to do that, we’re setting out a wide range of measures that tackle the things that we know cars risk on our roads.
“People who can’t see properly. Young drivers who are inexperienced. People who break the law by driving after they’ve had a drink.”
The legislation will demand a number of requirements, including new consultations on minimum learning period for learner drivers and eye tests for older drivers to decrease the chances of collisions on the roads.
Eamonn and Ellie spoke to Ms Greenwood this morning
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GB NEWS
But fellow presenter Ellie Costello interjected: “This has been described as a death knell for country pubs, rural pubs across Britain.
“You know that this is a sector that’s already in crisis. We know that Rachel Reeves is not going to provide that new financial support to pubs landlords, telling GB News this Government just seems to set to kill the hospitality business.”
In response, Ms Greenwood said: “Well, look, there were 260 people killed by drunk drivers last year. Every single one of those deaths is preventable.
“I think about the families absolutely torn apart when a member of their family has been killed by a drunk driver. And I’ve sat down with many of them over the last 18 months, and that demands action.
“We are out of step in England and Wales, the drink drive limit that we have was set in 1967. It hasn’t changed since then.
“Look, nobody wants to stop people from going out to the pub.
“I enjoyed going out to the pub, but what we are saying to people is if you’re going out for a drink, leave the car at home.
“One of the things that we’ve seen that’s changed in pubs in recent years is the proliferation in the number of low alcohol, zero alcohol products, many of our favourite brands now available in zero alcohol.
“So if you’re going out for a drink, leave the car at home. If you’re going out with a group of mates, agree that one of you is going to be the designated driver. This is about saving lives.”