Starmer relaxes licensing laws to keep pubs open until 5am for England's 1am World Cup clash with Mexico

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has relaxed licensing laws to allow pubs across England and Wales to stay open until 5am for England’s round-of-16 World Cup clash with Mexico, which kicks off at 1am on Monday at the Azteca Stadium and could run past 3am if it reaches penalties.

The intervention came after existing rules — which permitted pubs to stay open until 2am for knockout matches kicking off between 9pm and 10pm — did not cover Monday’s later fixture. Pubs without special late licences would otherwise have needed to apply individually for temporary event notices to screen the game.

Communities Secretary Steve Reed had already urged councils to process those applications swiftly, warning that some local authorities were blocking reasonable bids. In a video shared on social media, Reed said: “There are so many pubs that are wanting to open their doors to fans so that they can watch the World Cup, and we want to do everything we can as a government to make sure that happens. We’ve already relaxed the licensing laws, but there are still some councils that are saying no to the pubs. And my message to those councils is please say yes.”

Earlier, Liberal Democrat MP Max Wilkinson had called for a blanket licensing extension during a Commons debate, arguing that pubs risked “missing out on a real opportunity to get more money into the till” without government action. Minister Kate Dearden initially told him opening times would not be extended further, but behind-the-scenes negotiations led to the Prime Minister stepping in with a broader solution.

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, welcomed the move after raising industry concerns directly with government. “We remain in close contact with Government about concerns raised by publicans who want to show the match but haven’t got Temporary Event Notices in place,” she said. “It would be a crying shame for fans and pubs if our locals weren’t able to host such an important match.”

England secured their place in the last 16 with a 2-1 victory over the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Wednesday, a result described as nail-biting, with Harry Kane among the standout performers. Starmer has also left the door open to granting a bank holiday should England go on to win the tournament.