Sunday Mercury special feature: West Midlands working men's clubs in fight for survival

Jul 25 2011 by Jonny Greatrex, Sunday Mercury

IN their heyday, they were the cornerstone of thriving Midland communities.

Working men’s clubs offered cheap drinks, live entertainment and even annual family trips to seaside resorts like Blackpool.

And scores of future showbiz stars – from Tom Jones to Jimmy Tarbuck – cut their teeth on the stages of the packed out venues.

But many clubs have been crippled in recent years, losing customers to discount supermarket booze, the breakdown of traditional neighbourhoods – and the smoking ban.

Stark new figures show the number of working men’s clubs in the West Midlands alone, has plummeted by more than 40 per cent in the last 13 years.

Now those remaining face the tough task of keeping their proud history alive.

Geoff Whewell, 72, is West Midlands secretary of the Working Men’s Club & Institute Union (CIU) and has witnessed close-up the decline of clubland.

Decline

“When I took over at the CIU in 1998 there were 211 clubs affiliated to us,” said Geoff.

“Now it stands at 123, so you can see there has been a steady decline in numbers.

“There are lots of reasons for it, but the smoking ban has had a big impact.

“Who wants to see members, many in their twilight years, being forced to stand outside in all weathers, just to have a cigarette?

“Hotels are allowed to have smoking in some rooms, and people still smoke in prison, so why can’t clubs?

“We don’t want to repeal the smoking ban, just have a room set aside for members to go to.”

Geoff, secretary of Longford and Cannock social clubs in Staffordshire, revealed that the constant battle to compete with cheap supermarket booze, and Government red tape, had also further damaged clubs.

“The likes of Tesco give people the opportunity to buy cheap drinks, so then they stay at home rather than coming out,’’ he said.

“Then there are the multitude of Government diktats like the Equality Act, the Health & Safety Act, the Data Protection Act, to name but a few.

“Many clubs are not in a financial position to comply with all the requirements of these acts and find it very difficult to raise the necessary income required.”

Working men’s clubs emerged in the mid-19th century to offer recreation in industrial areas for working class men and their families.

At their peak during the 1960s and 70s there were more than 4,000 CIU affiliated clubs, with more than SIX MILLION members.