On the sunny terrace now painted in Reform turquoise, a Reform councillor is doing the rounds (he can’t be older than 25) as locals swill pints and smoke cigarettes. Inside the first of two rooms, there isn’t a table free as groups gather round scorecards to play bingo. A host behind a small blue booth is reading out numbers: “Dirty knee,” he says. “Thirty-three.”
“You a West Ham fan?” asks one patron. “No, Palace, FA Cup winners,” is my reply. He turns away. I notice a sign nearby that reads, “Any children left unattended will be sold as slaves.”
The Talbot does a Sunday roast for £5 and chicken curry for £3.50Lowe was asked by party officials to start leafleting in the area, and offered up the premises for use instead. The function room upstairs has space for 180, while the £3.50 chicken curry attracts budget-conscious events organisers.
So far, Lowe says, it’s proved to be profitable.
If Britain’s pubs are supposed to harbour all – dukes next to bus drivers; firefighters at tables with film stars – this is not it. This feels more like a microcosm, and a reminder that there are pockets of society who feel completely alone – like “strangers in their own country”.
Donna, who alongside her partner asks not to give her full name, adds she hasn’t had any political conversations yet but wouldn’t be against doing so. Her opinions are forthcoming: “The net zero drive is damaging. We shouldn’t be giving up our oil and gas licences. Pylons are devastating for the countryside.
Regulars Liam O’Brien and his partner Vicky Frost are not members of Reform but aren’t happy with ‘what’s going on with immigration’The couple, who are landlords, seem to feel disenfranchised by Westminster: “The Tories turned into a high-tax, big-state party. Things need to be turned around. Poverty needs addressing… Everything is controlled by think tanks and quangos. It takes away the accountability of Westminster. Politicians are given scripts. It’s almost like they don’t have a choice.”
“I live next door and have been coming here for years. It’s always been very good and they’ve always looked after me. The food is great and very cheap – you can’t beat the prices anywhere.”
I find chef Colin in the kitchen. He welcomes me in, taking a break from service as his two young assistants wash up and prepare veg. A portion of broccoli is boiling on the stove next to a near-cauldron of gravy; a beef and onion roll is waiting to go out; cooked Yorkshire puddings sit ready in a plastic bowl.
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In the pub, the bar is quietening down as families finish Sunday roasts and make way for the handful of younger drinkers arriving for the evening. The serious snooker players have gone and the bingo is in its final throes, evident by passionate cries of near-victory from various corners of the room. Bands of merry ladies are filling up wine glasses.
Pubs are where change happens. They’re where movements are forged and ideologues wrought – and for those of us living in an urban, liberal bubble, my afternoon at The Talbot might be a wake-up call. Reform’s political rise feels pretty unstoppable.
O’Brien says: “We came in when it opened [as the Reform pub] and we’re regulars now. It’s a good pub, really friendly and full of like-minded people. We’re not members of Reform but we’re not happy with the current situation in the UK and what’s going on with immigration.
“People think just because you come here, you’re a neo-Nazi. It’s not like that. We just want our country to be normal again.”
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