A nation awaits for a hero to arise and save us from £10 pints

In August 1988, something quite profound happened in Britain: for the first time in history, the average price of a pint of lager – previously only measured in pennies – hit £1.

Now, since the late 1980s, everything has got a lot dearer, thanks to the inexorable force that is inflation. We all understand that.

However, if you remember the good old days, it’s not simply nostalgia that’s making you baulk at the eye-watering prices which can be charged for a humble pint today.

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Forty years ago, the price of a pint was measured in pence, not pounds (Picture: Jack Taylor) | Getty Images

And according to master brewer Dougal Sharp, founder of Innis & Gunn, things are about to get worse with £10 pints set to become a fixture, because of rising pub costs and, particularly, high levels of taxation. “Pubs shouldn’t be treated like a convenient cash machine [by the government], but like what they are: a national institution,” he said.

We can imagine many a glass being raised to that idea in pubs across the country. It will be a popular politician who saves us from the £10 pint. But who will be the hero to answer the nation’s call in its hour of need?