Fighting the anti-alcohol lobby

Related tags Beer Europe

There has never been less beer sold in pubs since the 1850s, apart from 1931 in the depths of the Great Depression. Beer consumption generally is at...

There has never been less beer sold in pubs since the 1850s, apart from 1931 in the depths of the Great Depression.

Beer consumption generally is at a 40-year low. It declined 5% last year and will decline by even more this year. It is, sadly, in long term and seemingly irreversible decline.

Yet it's against this backdrop that the anti-alcohol lobbyists, driven on by Europe and the World Health Organisation, are proposing that Government raises alcohol duty rates by 10%. In fact, it's worse than that: some members of that unholy alliance are individually said to be urging rises of up to 30% to bring it more into line with spirits duty across Europe.

We report this week that the British Beer & Pub Association's chief executive has written to the Treasury pointing out the folly of listening to such siren voices. His letter, which is also written on behalf of the other alcohol trade bodies, points out that the UK already imposes some of the highest duty rates in Europe. To increase it further would only penalise responsible drinkers while doing nothing to deter problem drinkers - in fact it would do exactly the reverse and open the gates to criminal bootleggers to ramp up illicit drinking.

Hayward's missive is powerful. And further weight will be added to these arguments in a meeting with MPs at the end of the month, when the pub trade's massive contribution to the health and welfare of the country will be laid before our political masters.

It's crucial that these messages are picked up and acted upon. At the moment, the anti-alcohol lobby is making all the running. And in its usual unscrupulous way, it has no qualms about pumping out misinformation about pubs and alcohol. Our trade's innate benefits - particularly the contribution moderate alcohol consumption can make to combating disease, let alone releasing tension and promoting community and fellowship - are just not registering in the minds of the policy makers.

The fact we're currently losing this battle means we need our trade bodies to focus very hard on how they can help each other to get the right messages across more effectively. At the moment, there's too little being done in the face of seemingly overwhelming forces.

Raising duty on alcohol at the next budget would be an utter disaster. Let's ensure it never happens.