Beer tax rally gives pub industry hope for 2013

Representatives from numerous pub industry bodies including the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA), the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), along with hundreds of licensees and breweries came from across the UK to take part in the lobby which took place on Wednesday (12 December).

A spokesperson for Camra said: “When you’ve got over 400 MPs being lobbied throughout the day and people coming into London from all corners of the UK from Cornwall to Aberdeen, it should show to ministers that people do really care about this escalator. I think in that respect alone the day was a success.

“It was great to see the likes of Greg Mulholland, Andrew Griffiths and Caroline Nokes all speaking at the lobby and giving their own support. And, from our point of view, the media coverage was really effective. We were on BBC Politics Live and over 20 BBC radio stations covered it as well. It shows that these major institutions actually care about this decision as well.

Pub closures​

The beer duty escalator is a policy causing tax on beer to automatically increase by 2 per cent above inflation every year. Since its launch, beer tax has increased by more than 40 per cent – to one of the highest rates in Europe - with over a third of every pint pulled in a pub now paid in duty and VAT. During this period, over 5,800 pubs have been forced to close their doors.

Camra is still collating feedback from its members after the day’s campaigning and the group is confident that the unification of the pub industry over the matter was enough to show the Government how significant an issue the beer duty escalator is.

The spokesperson added: “Yesterday’s lobby shows that a lot of people care about this escalator. So that in itself is a positive sign for the industry; that we are united and all want what’s best for the industry.

“We piled our resources into the e-petition and this was our biggest campaigning event in our 40-year history. So we’ve done so much and we can only hope we get somewhere with all this effort.

“The next few months after Christmas will really be about hammering home the message and continuing the pressure.”

BigHospitality’s beer tax timeline:​​

• March 2008 –​ The discredited beer tax ‘escalator’ policy was introduced by the then-Chancellor Alistair Darling
• March 2009 –​ Figures revealed that a record 2,000 pubs had closed since Chancellor Alistair Darling increased beer tax in the 2008 Budget, taking with them 20,000 industry jobs
• April 2009 –​ The pub closures were revealed to have cost the Treasury £242m in lost tax revenue, while 90 per cent of the British public were calling for freeze on beer tax​
• April 2009 –​ A poll commissioned by the Axe the Beer Tax – Save the Pub campaign revealed the majority of MPs opposed Alistair Darling’s plans to increase beer tax ahead of the 2009 Budget​
• June 2009​ – More figures from the BBPA revealed that Britons are paying the third highest amount of beer tax on a single pint in the EU​ - nine times more than the Germans
• December 2009 –​ The Chancellor confirmed that alcohol tax increases will remain in place​ after announcing in his Pre-Budget Report that the VAT rate will return to 17.5 per cent in January
• March 2010​ – Budget 2010: Alcohol duty rose, as planned​
• April 2010​ – More than 400 would-be MPs signed up to the BBPA’s I'm Backing the Pub campaign​
• March 2011​ – The rate of pub closures slowed to 25 per week, although government revealed a seven per cent rise in beer tax in the budget​
• March 2011​ – The pub industry gave its reaction to the 2011 Budget​, claiming that the continuation of the beer tax escalator will not only cost the Treasury money, but lose the pub industry ten thousand jobs in 2011
• October 2011​ – More bad news. UK pub beer sales were down 4.3 per cent in the third quarter​ from the same period in 2010 – something the BBPA claimed could be put down to the tax escalator
• November 2011​ - Chancellor George Osborne offered help to small and medium-size businesses in his autumn statement, but the BBPA urged action on the escalator​
• February​ - Pub company Admiral Taverns announced it is to freeze the prices of a broad selection of its draught beers​ in an attempt to hit back at imminent increases in beer tax
• February​ – Last orders: The British beer and pub industry has unanimously demanded a freeze in the Government’s controversial beer tax escalator​ ahead of the upcoming budget.
• March​ – Budget 2012:​ Beer Tax hikes reach 42 per cent since the first stage of this timeline​
• August - ​15,000 beer-drinkers add their names to it over the course of the Great British Beer Festival
• September – ​100,000 signatures for the beer tax e-petition.
• November - ​MPs debated beer tax in Parliament