Adrian Sanders, Lib Dem MP for Torbay has been tackling the Government over its lack of support for local pubs.
With increasing competition from supermarkets selling alcohol at below cost-price, problems for pubs increased with a 2% above inflation duty rise in the Budget. Pubs are now closing at a rate of 6 a day nationally and there are 75,000 jobs under threat.
Treasury Minister Angela Eagle refused to tell Mr Sanders how many people had been in favour of the above inflation duty rise, which will push more sales to supermarkets. While it was acknowledged that a ‘wide range’ of representations had been received, the Minister cited the precedent of previous administrations that the numbers in favour and against the duty rise would not be revealed.
The Minister also admitted that no research had been carried out to identify the impact of the duty rise on pub closures and job losses.
Adrian said: “Pubs across Torbay and South Devon have been closing in recent months. All closures will cost jobs and damage the economy and many will have a seriously negative effect upon local communities by removing a vital social hub.”
“The British Beer and Pub Association ran a high profile campaign to get as many people to contact Ministers as possible and the Minister is just trying to hide the level of unpopularity of her policy. The Government is, in theory, here to represent the interests of the British people but yet again views have been ignored. There is so much the Government can do to help stabilise the pub industry and prevent future closures and job losses but it simply refuses to take an intelligent approach.”
Adrian is pressing the Government to take a better approach on the issue. There is currently no evidence that duty rises reduce binge drinking; the problem lies in under-pricing by large supermarket chains. Large pub companies are also charging inflated wholesale prices to tied pubs, which is having some impact. Adrian is also calling for fewer burdens for pubs wishing to host live music.
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