Britain’s community pubs have been closing at an unprecedented rate in recent months. And all too often, in the debate about the small minority of premises that give the trade a bad name, we forget all the good work that pubs do in their local communities. Local pubs do a great job in raising money for charity and good causes, acting as the heart of their community, and drawing tourists to Britain.
However, there is genuine concern about excessive alcohol consumption, particularly that caused by people buying large quantities of very cheap alcohol from supermarkets and off-licences, and the impact that this is having on behaviour in public places. I share those anxieties, but I do not believe that year-on-year, above-inflation tax increases on beer are the solution to the problem. That is why the Liberal Democrats tabled amendments to the House of Commons Finance Bill to try and prevent these increases.
I am concerned that these rises in beer duty will harm pubs which are already struggling in difficult economic circumstances. There is also little evidence to suggest that these higher taxes will have a significant impact on binge drinking.
Much of the binge drinking that takes place is fuelled by people drinking very cheap alcohol from supermarkets before they go out. This is why the Liberal Democrats have proposed introducing a social minimum price for alcohol to prevent supermarkets from selling alcohol below cost price. This would have the advantage of targeting irresponsible retailers rather than applying a blanket tax hike across the industry, which disproportionately affects pubs.
It’s good to see the pub trade, working with the consumer body CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale), fighting back. Today sees the launch of a new campaign called ‘Axe The Beer Tax – Save the Pub’. Given the strength of feeling among pub goers and the trade, this campaign needs support, to make it clear to the Government that pubs need a break from endless tax increases and new red tape. The campaign website is at www.axethebeertax.com. I wish it well.
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9 Comments
These are very,very broad judgements about private behaviour. If I want to enjoy a bargain can of lager in my own home with friends then you’ll use state power to artificially enforce cost price. However if i want to go to local super pub and get trashed till 3 in the morning then you’ll campaign to stop/reverse a tax hike on my pint of lager ?
Of course its another piece of Public Health legislation ( the smoking ban ) that has caused most of the very recent problems with pubs in the first place.
Greetings Don, and thank you for the piece. A few questions, if I may. Firstly, can you cite any evidence for this?:
“Much of the binge drinking that takes place is fuelled by people drinking very cheap alcohol from supermarkets before they go out.”
And how much is “much”?
Secondly, and as a continuation, do you really believe that people who drink excessively cannot afford a few extra quid to pay for their drinks?
Good to see us taking on the government over the tax increases, though. The more we can do on this, the better.
A good way of supporting your local pub is, of course, to set up a regular Liberal Drinks event…
I go to pubs which have real ale, single malt, & an atmosphere which is a USP. I don’t go to dens of idiocy which sell lager, are infested with chavs, & blare out moronic TV programmes.
They know what to do if they want my custom & that of millions like me, which is to raise standards. I won’t shed any tears over the moronic PubCos run by spivs.
It is not complicated.
My parents ran a pub when I was a kid, and it was one of ten in a village of about six thousand people. The last time I was there, about ten years ago, there were still six left, but I found out recently that as of August this year there are none left at all now.
The consensus seems to be that the fault lies mainly with the breweries who bought them all up one by one and them charged tenant landlords such high rents that the pubs weren’t viable, and then the smoking ban finally killed off the rest.
breweries who bought them all up one by one and them charged tenant landlords such high rents that the pubs weren’t viable
Why would they want to put themselves out of business like that?
IainM, not wanting to make judgements, but from your ten-years-ago comment I’m guessing you’re at least 30, if not older, meaning your parents were running the pub in the 60s and 70s, if not earlier, is that fair?
The pub trade has, naturally, shrunk substantially since then. Why?
Because most of us stay at home to watch TV in the evening, because it’s a genuine option now, whereas when your parents were running their pub, many households didn’t have a TV, and if they did it was small, B&W and with only a few channels to watch.
Yes, the breweries (or, more specifically, the PubCos) have contributed due to daft policies, and many pubs themselves have dug themselves into holes by not adapting to modern entertainment preferences, but this Govts policies on the smoking ban and beer duty rises are killing off what’s left.
There are several real issues affecting pubs, daft PubCo beer ties and decisions being a significant cause of extra closures, but even free houses stocking proper ale with decent smoking facilities are finding it harder these days—some are adapting well (where Jennie and I organise the local Lib Drinks is thriving under the new(ish) landlords), but others aren’t.
I don’t support Govt intervention to prop up failing businesses that are being out competed, but I definitely don’t like Govt policies that are driving pubs with centuries of tradition out of business.
David. I can walk down the road to the local tescos and buy 36 cans of Stella for £15. That’s just over 41p per can. To buy that much in Jennie’s pub would cost £108, or £3 per pint. That’s the cheapest they can possibly sell it at. They’re not, legally, allowed to go to Tesco and buy from there, Tesco is selling it much cheaper than the pub’s wholesale price.
That’s a loss leader and then some, either that or something is seriously wrong with the way beer duty is being enforced. There is a large amount of evidence (including many studies) showing that ‘binge’ drinkers start by getting very drunk at home on cheap lager and cheap spirits, then go out into towns afterwards.
Decent community pubs don’t have such problem drinkers in them, I’ve seen obviously drunk troublemakers refused service and forcibly removed from a few local pubs. That there are pubs that are desperate enough to allow them in and break the law by serving them is a sign of how troubled the industry is.
Do you really think it’s right that drinking at home costs 41p per can, but drinking in a pub costs £3 per pint of the exact same liquid? (a can is slightly smaller than a pint, but not by much)
People are prepared to pay extra for a decent atmosphere, but not that much extra.
Of course, real ale selling pubs are doing better, but not brilliantly.
Well said Don: I really think the party needs to move a lot further on this one, Greg’s doing a great job speaking for the trade in the House, but we need to get real publicity on it in the mainstream press as well as the trade press.
It’s also worth considering Don that those who binge drink and as a result are antisocial are more likely to be from the younger element of society. Many of whom still probably live at home paying a few quid in board to their parents.It doesn’t make one jot of difference to them if the price of a beer goes up 10,20,30 pence. Your average working man is the one who suffers.
The social and ecomomic damage that has been created by the Pubcos is enormous.Like carpet baggers of old they are ruthless.They are clinging to a business model that has made them lots of money but was always immoral and nasty.Only now when they cannot flog the dead horse anymore do we hear them bleating and for once running a little scared.
I predict one, if not several of the big Pubcos will go under pretty soon,and when they do I cannot see any other large companies taking on the estates that will be up for grabs.
Hopefully then the balance will be restored and pubs will be bought by ordinary landlords who can run pubs at a profit and in a way that is sustainable for the community.
Reduce beer tax by all means ,but get rid of Pubcos and the British pub might have a chance.30 years in the trade and I have never seen anything like it.
We are running our own campaign “Supporting our Pubs” on our website http://www.innworld.co.uk and hope all together we can make a difference.