'Nights out getting more expensive': Price of pint increase disappoints Wolverhampton drinkers

In recent research conducted by casino games site casino.org to compare prices for various consumer items in cities across the UK, Wolverhampton was ranked second on the top 10 list for the average price of a pint increasing, behind only Bradford in West Yorkshire.

The research found that the average price of a pint in Wolverhampton had risen by 32.4 per cent between 2022 and 2024, from £3.40 two years ago to £4.50 this year.

For people living and working in Wolverhampton, the news of the increase by more than a pound over a two year period was met with disappointment and a wish for more to be done to bring the price down.

Owen Bradley from Stowlawn said he liked to go out in Wolverhampton, particularly in the Billy Wright, and the 38-year-old said less tax on the pint would be a good start.

He said: "With the cost of living, it's becoming harder to afford nights out sometimes if you're on your own, although it's often easier when you're out with friends and family.

"That's one way around it as it can be a cheaper night then, but I do also like going out to the Billy Wright as it's a bit cheaper in there, as well as having a great atmosphere and being a bit more lively.

"I think they reduced taxation on beer, that would be a good start for making it cheaper."

Another person who thought that less tax should be put on alcohol was 48-year-old Mark Ryan from Wolverhampton.

He said: "I'm disgusted at the rise in a pint as inflation hasn't really gone up and there's a lot of things that haven't gone up, so I don't see why the cost of beer has gone up like this and the cost of living has really had a pinch.

"I'm finding that on a night out now, I'm having to spend around £30/£40 more than I would before and I think they should be reducing the amount they're taxing as if they didn't tax it so much, it would only cost a £1 a pint.

"To me, it comes down to the government wanting to make some money off it."

At the Billy Wright Pub, manager Tracy Fleet said she thought the rise of a pint by more than £1 was going to have a serious effect on the pub trade.

She said: "We are one of the busiest bars in the city centre purely because we are cheap and we don't see significant changes like that, but I think a lot of other bars are having to raise prices as it's a lot of money over a short space of time.

"People will end up having to pay that extra money and they might end up not going out on nights out as they can't afford it.

"The people in charge need to cap this as it's going to price out people like the older generation, who come to the pub to meet their friends and when they are on little pensions, it's going to cost them more and I don't think that's right."