If pubs and restaurants shut, how will it change society?

Serfdom!   

I agree with some of the points like restaurants being overpriced but I think them losing business isn't going to help anyone. With less income they will have to get rid of staff or even close if they can't afford the rent which means less jobs in the economy. When there's less jobs available there is more competition for all jobs which means employers can be picky and this leads to people being overworked and unpaid for it. When less people are working more money is needed to pay those who don't work so everyone that works will either pay more tax or have to work until they are older when the pension age rises

Agreed....I don't know what's happening to society either.  There's been a rush on homes here in Norfolk as people want to work from home in a lovely environment...they obviously haven't experienced Norfolk broadband yet!  Will they enjoy it long term? who knows....

HS2 makes my blood boil.  I work with ecologists and many of them have had to try and sort mitigation strategies for the damage that rail line is doing.  There are plenty of rail links shut during the Beeching cuts that would be less destructive to reopen and do more for reviving rural communities.  We certainly don't need better rail links to Birmingham.  It's probably the only city apart from London that you can already reach from any major station in the country...

Plus with the collapse of city living thanks to COVID it will be redundant anyway....If the closure of pubs, restaurants, clubs, music venues, theatres etc - which is the predominant lure of city living - was to be permanent, there will be no call for cities and commutes at all it seems

I think Restaurants and Pubs should be open for nourishment only while this pandemic is still on.  Maybe they should be allowed to serve one unit with a meal perhaps alcohol should be banned completely.   I thought it was wrong not to allow restaurants not to serve food at all earlier on in this pandemic.  Some people cannot cook for themselves and would have nowhere to eat.  Eating outside will be more difficult when it gets cold.  People should just go into the restaurant or pub and have their meal and leave quickly that would reduce the spread of the Virus. Perhaps have a time limit per meal.   I am not sure that we would need a 10 PM curfew if alcohol was not served at all in restaurants or strictly rationed.  Supermarkets should only be allowed to sell alcohol to be drunk at home and in the evenings not be allowed to sell it.  Long term affects people will eat at home more even when this pandemic is over and some restaurants and pubs will close permanently. 

That's mad, I don't know what's happening to this country, it doesn't feel like somewhere I recognise anymore.

Did you see the programme about house prices in Manchester recently? As more businesses move from the south and Londoners take advantage of the 2 hour train link, house prices are sky rocketing and pushing out the locals. When HS2 is finished, the same thing will happen the whole way along the route and the locals will then be complaining about, wishing they had never mentioned wanting faster rail links to London.

I was once mistaken for Stephen Nolan on a Saturday Night train to Derry - I was heading to Antrim after first getting to Belfast from Dublin. These guys shouted, "Biggest Show in the Country!" And I was, like, "It would need to be! The size of him!"

LMAO..... your a bit like Nolan

Plus the fact that Britain has become a Police State.

Rural Pubs in Ireland are being picked on by the Dublin Elite. The South is on the verge of a Civil War; while the TV tells them everything's grand.

Northern Ireland should seek to preserve its autonomy. But the Unionists want everything run by London, and Republicans want everything run by Dublin. They’re only preserving Stormont for the Gravy Train. And don't start me on Alliance.

Finance & government are inextricably linked so will always be in London.    We'd be better off bringing proper manufacturing back to this country - especially 1st world products where we are very competitive in pricing.    We suffer from short-term accountants looking to make a quick buck rather than investing for long-term growth.

Yeah, the cost of doing business here is an issue. There are lots of things that need sorting out in this country. London should be the financial capital only. The political capital should be moved to Birmingham or Manchester. The way things are it creates a housing bubble in London and drains money and talent from the country all into one little area.

The big problem is the cost of doing business in the UK - eating street food in 3rd world countries is playing Russian roulette with your life - literally.- but UK eating places are regulated and have to meet health & quality standards.    This all has to be paid for and wages and premises costs have to be paid so nothing is cheap in this country.

I can see that lots of independent places will be bled dry and go out of business - but it will still physically exist so a new owner can restart the business if there is a profit to be made.    

There are lots of political reasons why all this is happening - but I'm not going there.