As campaigns go, it has to be one of the most popular.
After all, who wouldn’t want to see a cut in the price of a pint of beer?
Colne Valley MP, Jason McCartney, is the latest to join a huge campaign calling for the Chancellor to cut beer tax duty ins the Budget on March 16.
He has joined the British Beer & Pub Association, the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and the Society of Independent Brewers to send a ‘Message in a Barrel’ to George Osborne.
And Mr McCartney has cited the growing success of the Huddersfield area in brewing real and craft beers as a reason to look at pricing.
Have a look around Mallisons Brewery in our video below
He said: “I know the wine, spirits, beer and cider industries, ranging from producers and suppliers to pubs, hotels and restaurants, plays an important role in providing employment.
“That’s not least here in our constituency where there are 11 micro-breweries and the Holmfirth vineyard.”
Mr McCartney posted his message in the handcrafted barrel, specially made by Yorkshire brewer Theakston’s, alongside almost 50 other MPs to add their voice to the campaign.
The three cuts in beer duty over the past three Budgets have proved a massive boost for brewing and pubs in the UK, resulting in more affordable beer and millions of pounds of investment in pubs.
However, there is still more that can be done. Beer tax in the UK remains far higher than that neighbouring European countries. It can be as much as 52p on a pint of 5% strength beer - compared to just 9p in Belgium and Poland.
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In Germany, for example, the rate of tax on beer is some thirteen times lower than here in the UK. British beer drinkers pay almost 40 per cent of all the beer tax in the EU despite only drinking 12% of the beer. Brewing and pubs make a massive contribution to the UK economy. As a sector it supports almost 900,000 jobs across the country and contributes £22bn to UK GDP.
Beer tax cuts are also popular with the public – a recent YouGov poll for the BBPA shows that 72 per cent support with a cut or freeze in beer duty in the Budget.
