Call for 'fairness' on beer ahead of Budget

The Government needs to ensure "a fair, competitive position" for beer to safeguard the future of the local pub and protect jobs, according to Labour MP John Grogan.

Mr Grogan, who is chair of the all-party parliamentary beer group, told BBC Radio Four's Today Programme that duty on beer had risen much faster than that on cider or whisky, and called for a "rebalancing of taxation" ahead of the group's meeting this afternoon.

He said that beer - "a very traditional British drink" - had lost out, and pledged to make the issue of saving the community pub as important as the drive to save local post offices.

The meeting of the group comes as the Axe the Beer Tax - Save the Pub campaign by the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) and CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, gathers pace ahead of the Budget.

The campaign warns that 75,000 jobs in the drinks industry are at risk, and calls on the Government to abandon its plans to introduce a tax hike of up to 8% on beer.

Since the 2008 Budget there have been 2,000 pub closures, according to the BBPA and CAMRA, and the rate of failing businesses is accelerating.

Mr Grogan said the local pub is an important part of the fabric of a community.

"I think a community pub is every bit as important a forum for political debate as the Today Programme," he added.

"It's a centre for charitable activity, for sporting activity."

IMAGE PA/PA Wire