The date:18th July 2008

The time: 12:15pm

The place: Fox & Goose Pub, (Fox & Goose Shopping Centre) Washwood Heath Road, B8 2NB

Liam Byrne MP will be dropping in at the Fox & Goose Pub in Birmingham Hodge Hill as publicans across the country celebrate the second Proud of Pubs Week.

And the public are being urged to join them as the fightback to keep the great British pub alive begins.

Liam Byrne is one of more than 100 MPs visiting pubs during the national celebration of pubs, organised by The Publican magazine, which runs from July 13 to 20.

The MP will be seeing for himself the positive contribution that the Fox & Goose makes in its community, as well as discussing issues with licensees as pubs face up to an unprecedented series of challenges in 2008, ranging from spiralling beer prices to the aftermath of the smoking ban.

Liam will also be discussing what part the Fox & Goose can play in regenerating the shopping centre when Tesco arrives next year.

Other events in Proud of Pubs Week will include pubs putting on their own Proud of Pubs Night, many of them trying out new entertainment for the first time, and pubs celebrating their barstaff.

Recent research revealed more than half of publicans (52%) have seen sales drop in the year following the smoking ban – although most publicans blame the credit crunch for the drop, rather than the ban.

Daniel Pearce, managing editor of The Publican, said: “Pubs do so much for their communities and we thought it was about time that more MPs dropped in to their local to see that for themselves! Proud of Pubs Week is a great opportunity for pub landlords to shout out about all the great things they do.

“As pubs face up to unprecedented challenges in 2008, Proud of Pubs Week is the ideal time to drop into your local and give it a try."