A letter signed by 68 Conservative MPs has been sent to HM Treasury today, imploring chancellor Rishi Sunak to cut beer duty in his upcoming Budget statement on Wednesday.

Rishi Sunak
Chancellor Rishi Sunak

The initiative was driven by Richard Holden, MP for North West Durham, a prominent member of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group and a celebrated Long Live The Local beer champion.

It follows concerted calls from the beer and pub sector for increased support from the chancellor following the announcement of the prime minister’s roadmap to re-opening. This confirmed that pubs will not be able to fully open inside and out, without trading restrictions, until mid-June at the earliest.

The British Beer & Pub Association has said the very cautious re-opening of pubs will cost the sector £1.5 billion in lost trade in April alone, as three in five pubs will not be able to open or be viable with outside service only. It says that even when pubs can re-open indoors. from mid-May at the earliest, they will still be significantly down on business due to remaining trading restrictions.

The UK pays £3.6 billion in beer buty each year — more than Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, and Ireland combined. British beer drinkers pay 11 times more duty on beer than those in Germany as well as Spain.

Massive impact

Seven in ten alcoholic drinks sold in a pub are beers, underlining how important beer sales are to pub turnover. At present, £1 in every £3 spent in a pub goes to HM Treasury in a range of taxes, including beer duty.

To date, more than 500,000 people have signed the Long Live The Local petition calling on the government to cut beer duty. More than 275,000 people have also written to their local MP, asking them to urge the chancellor to cut beer duty. (See our new campaigns section.)

Richard Holden MP said: “Our pubs are at the heart of our communities, and lockdown has hit them harder than any other sector. Whilst the government support has been welcome, it has not made up for the massive impact of being closed for so long on these vital local institutions.

“The best way for them to build back better after this crisis is to get people back into pubs, and the best encouragement for publicans and the public is to see real action on beer duty.”