Aaron Carter at  The Golden Lion

ONE of Camden’s best-loved back street pubs is to ring for last orders at 9.30pm – in a battle for survival against rocketing ­energy bills.

In one of the most startling illustrations of how uncapped prices for gas and electricity could decimate businesses, The Golden Lion in Camden Town said it had already been forced into a new contract with suppliers that was 400 per cent more expensive.

Licensee Aaron Carter, who is also closing the pub’s kitchen to save energy costs, said it was the first time in his career that he had considered the ratio of paying to turn on light bulbs in the pub to the number of pints that were sold.

He blamed Vladimir Putin, an “absent government” and the energy companies for the “extortionate” price rises.

Traders across Camden and beyond have been hoping for help from the government all summer, which has seen a leadership contest take place over several weeks and no firm ­policy announcements.

New prime minister Liz Truss has pledged to come up with help amid the bleak warnings for both domestic customers and businesses.

Mr Carter said: “We were paying 14p per kilowatt before, and now it’s 54p. I never thought about how many kilowatts we were using before. Our kitchen runs only on electric supply. We did the figures and it’s just not worth it. We will open 3-9.30pm.”

He added: “There’s no point continuing to open at lunchtime: no one really comes in just for a drink anymore. I’ve been in trade for 20 years and I have slowly watched the death of the traditional drinker.

Lots of people thought it was to do with smoking ban. But really it’s that they have all gone to Wetherspoons for the £2 pints. So there’s just no reason to spend on electricity at lunch­time. It’s not worth having eighty light bulbs on for a couple of people nursing a pint.”

The Golden Lion is celebrated as a pub where prices are still cheaper than most bars, with a pint of Fosters still costing £4.50 for the meantime.

The New Journal backed a campaign to save the pub when it was threatened by a developer’s flat plan in 2013.

Actors Sean Bean and Richard Wilson signed a petition in support of the pub, which eventually won a long-running battle.

The final episode of One Foot In The Grave was filmed at the pub with actors Paul Merton and Richard Wilson

At the time the case was said to be unprecedented as the Lion become the very first pub in the UK to be bought under the “going concern” stipulation of the Localism Act and its Community Right to Bid protection.

Mr Carter said that some businesses like his had already had to make a decision on contract renewals or “face going bust”. He added that he did not want to increase prices but he had staff to think about and he would try to take away special offers first.

Dave Murphy remains the freeholder while Mr Carter has been running the pub since 2018, having been at the near­by Prince Albert since 2008.

Mr Murphy’s mother Mary Murphy was the pub’s legendary landlady for 40 years, who in 2011 was recognised with a lifetime achievement award by the Camden Inner London Licensees Association.
The prime minister is expected to outline detail of her plan later this week with experts tipping her to prevent a major second price rise with a freeze for domestic customers, possibly funded by government borrowing.

Mr Carter said her initial speech was “all largely broad strokes” and there was “no meat on the bone as to how they intend to ensure that businesses that are facing calamity now will have any respite in the coming days or weeks”, adding: “That said, it is good that someone is back at the wheel and to be fair, they did do well helping businesses during Covid.”