MP urges government to help brewers promote beer
The MP for Burton-on-Trent, widely regarded as the spiritual home of brewing, has called on the government to give the beer industry greater support.
An Early Day Motion tabled by Janet Dean urges the government "to support the efforts of the UK brewing industry and to promote awareness of Britain's national drink and its major contribution to the UK economy".
It has already been signed by 56 MPs and is being backed by Britain's 33 independent family brewers and Coors Brewers as part of the Beer Naturally campaign.
"Sales of beer have been in decline for a generation and the consumer trend is now towards drinking more imported wine," said Ms Dean. "This is worrying for UK beer producers, who employ 107,000 British workers. At the same time, farmers here supply the industry with 600,000 tonnes of UK malting barley.
"It is now time for the government to take positive action to help guarantee the future of the great British pint, which is still the taste of the nation."
While imported wine is currently enjoying phenomenal success in both the on and off-trade, beer sales in the UK have plummeted nearly seven million barrels a year during the last two decades, equivalent to two billion pints per annum.
In its efforts to buck this trend, British brewers are hoping the government will help stimulate domestic demand and exports and offer the level of support that European authorities give their wine-producing counterparts on the continent.
Paul Hegarty, external communications manager for Coors, said: "We have been very pleased with the number of signatures. There's obviously a high level of support in the House.
"We don't expect the government to spend huge amounts of money or cut the rate of duty on beer. All we want is the UK government to treat its national drink with the same kind of commitment as the French treat wine.
"If the government is entertaining people it should have a really good British beer available rather than foreign wine - we want the government to help spread the message that beer is a really good drink."
The Early Day Motion is the latest instalment of the "Beer Naturally" initiative spearheaded by Coors.
The brewer has previously called on other brewers to take part in a generic campaign aimed at promoting and improving the quality and image of beer.
At last year's Publican Conference, Coors chief executive Peter Kendall said: "We would like to see an industry-wide campaign where the main message is that beer is a natural, wholesome product that's not made from chemicals and that it is healthy if drunk in moderation.
"Brewing is an important part of the UK economy and we should take pride in our national drink and celebrate its diversity."
