Following the appointment of the new Prime Minister and ahead of the Chancellor’s statement on 31 October, the Long Live the Local campaign supported by 154,000 members of the British public, and backed by the British Beer and Pub Association, is calling on the Government to save pubs and breweries in communities across the country from closure.
To help save their local from closure the campaign is calling on the Chancellor to reinstate the freeze on alcohol duty and introduce alcohol duty reforms that support British pubs and beer as a lower strength product, lower business rates to that they are equitable to other similar businesses and to reinstate the lower rate of VAT for food and beverages sold in pubs with a view to making this permanent
In October 2021, the now PM Rishi Sunak in his role as Chancellor, stated that the current system of alcohol taxation was “outdated, complex and full of historical anomalies” and committed to reform and simplify alcohol duty to help breweries and pubs. Now, the Long Live the Local campaign and British Beer and Pub Association is urging the PM and the current Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to follow through with those commitments as soon as possible, as well as reinstate the freeze to alcohol duty announced by Kwasi Kwarteng just weeks ago.
Emma McClarkin, Chief Executive of the British Beer and Pub Association said, “Our pubs and brewers are in desperate need of relief. The cost of doing business is completely out of control and whilst we welcomed an intervention on energy it is just one of a myriad of spiralling costs our publicans and brewers are facing.
“The PM has shown before that he believes in our sector as one that is not only at the heart of so many communities across the country, but also that with the right investment our sector the potential to deliver jobs, growth and support local economies in every part of the UK.
“We really hope the new PM and his Chancellor will once again step up and show they recognise just how important pubs and breweries are to the lifeblood of this country before it is too late.”