MP calls for beer duty cut to help Black Country breweries
A Black Country MP has urged the Chancellor to slash beer duty in a bid to keep pubs open.
Ahead of Wednesday's budget self-confessed beer fan Ian Austin says reducing tax on a pint of beer by a penny will 'help pubs, breweries and drinkers hit by inflation'.
It comes after 71 MPs signed a pledge card supporting the brewing and pubs sector.
Speaking during a visit to Sadler's Brewery in Lye, Stourbridge, Dudley North MP Mr Austin said: "The Black Country is home to some of the best brewers in Britain and some cracking pubs, so I'm a big fan of local beer – not just as a consumer, but because of the business and jobs these brilliant local companies provide.
"Measures such as the beer duty cut will protect jobs, keep the price of a pint down and keep pubs open."
Mr Austin is a member of CAMRA and has long called for reductions in beer duty to help ailing pubs. Across the country pubs are closing at a rate of 25 a week.
MPs have highlighted 900,000 jobs that depend on the industry across the country, and the £20 billion that beer and pubs adds to the economy.
The pledge card points out that British people drink 12 per cent of the beer in the European Union, but pay almost 40 per cent of the total beer tax.
Beer is essential to the Great British pub, so keeping a lid on beer duty will help to keep pubs open and thriving, the card adds.
The pledge has been backed by Graham Evans MP, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), CAMRA and the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA).
Mr Evans said: "For all members of Parliament, beer and pubs are vital to our communities.
"Support for the sector can bring more of the investment needed, to provide the great pubs that bring people together to enjoy a pint. I am delighted that so many fellow MPs have shown their support."
West Midlands MEP Bill Etheridge has also called on the Chancellor to support for beer and pubs by a cutting beer duty.
It came after fears that recently announced business rate rises could rack up estimated costs of between £300 million and £500m.
