The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) marked its 50th anniversary on 16th March. As part of marking the achievement, CAMRA Members were invited to write short articles highlighting campaigning successes over those 50 years. Surrey Hants Borders Branch Pubs Officer, Kevin Travers, recalls taking on the neo-prohibitionists in South Wales in the early 1990s when he was Chairman of the Cardiff Branch.

As an Englishman I never thought I would be campaigning in Wales to keep pubs open on Sundays; but nearly 25-years ago, I found myself doing just that!

The Sunday Closing (Wales) Act 1881 required the closure of all pubs in Wales on Sundays. It was repealed in 1961 and replaced by Welsh Sunday prohibition referendums. These could take place in every local Council area in Wales at 7-year intervals between 1961 and 1996. with the result dictating whether pubs were able to open on a Sunday in that area for the next 7-years. While urban districts such as Swansea, Cardiff and Merthyr ditched the ban at the earliest possible opportunity, many rural and Welsh-speaking counties held on to "dry" Sundays. The restrictions were gradually whittled and prior to the 1996 Referendum all local government areas except Dwyfor in north west Wales had voted in favour of opening licensed premises on Sundays.

By 1996 ballots were only held if a petition of at least 500 people requesting a change to the status quo was received. This year the Government announced that ballots were to be held under the new local government boundaries and furthermore that after 1996 they were abandoning the practice of holding ballots every seven years, so these results voted for then would stand.

A petition was received in Gwynedd, which now covered Dwyfor, offering an opportunity to overturn the existing closures, but in the South Wales Valleys a small but well organised local temperance movement led by the dry camp's champion, Eirian Williams, saw an opportunity and sensed that if they mobilised themselves effectively they could bring about an unexpected change in the law. So it was that a petition of 500 names was raised and Prohibition Referendums were announced in Gwynedd and Rhondda Cynon Taff for Monday 11th November 1996.

Whilst there was undoubtedly a significant majority of people in South Wales in favour of Sunday opening of pubs, the carrot of securing a long term change brought out the Neo-prohibitionists, who began to get their voices heard. The CAMRA Branches in Cardiff and Mid Glamorgan sprang into action and spearheaded a campaign across the Valleys to encourage people to vote in favour of retaining Sunday opening. It was the days before social media and the campaign therefore relied on word of mouth, press releases, articles in local newspapers and distributing bilingual leaflets as widely as possible. Beer mats printed in both English and Welsh carried the warning and Kitchener-style posters were produced - an index finger imperiously pointing out a threat to the Sunday pint!

Speaking to people whilst out leafleting it was clear that virtually everyone supported pubs opening on Sundays, particularly those involved in the tourist industry in North Wales, but the biggest threat was complacency. People just couldn’t believe there was a realistic threat of the existing rules changing so didn’t see the urgency to vote. CAMRAs message was therefore a clear one, spend a few minutes going to vote on Monday or risk the threat of not being able to go out for a drink on Sunday any more.

Throughout the day licensees laid on free transport to get regulars to the polling stations to defend their lunchtime pints, but heavy rain and gales were a concern, dampening people’s enthusiasm to go and vote and potentially handing an advantage to the more fervent who were against opening.

Whilst we couldn’t really believe people would vote for pubs to close there was nevertheless a nervous wait when the votes were being counted. There was a reasonably healthy turnout in Gwynedd with 36% of people voting and nearly 3:1 in favour of opening. In Rhondda Cynon Taff the turnout was much lower only 16% voted. However, only 3,427 voted to reintroduce Sunday closing whilst 24,863 voted against, over 7:1 in favour of the status quo. It had been a campaign by a tiny minority to try and turn the clock back to 1961. A ridiculous exercise that had cost local Councils approximately £100,000. However, CAMRA had worked closely with local publicans and breweries to ensure that we could all continue to enjoy our Sunday pints.