'This idiot Chancellor just won't listen'

"It's another example of the Government putting a lot of money into a bottomless pit and we as an industry will gain nothing at all."

Licensee Bill Sharp sums up the mood among hosts and trade figures at a BII Budget Day Debate at the Old Star pub in Westminster this afternoon. Delegates groaned as Alistair Darling delivered another hammer blow to struggling pubs by adding 2% to alcohol duty.

It's particularly galling as the Chancellor was more than willing to help other sectors going through tough times. Sharp adds: "He's done a bit for the car trade but nothing for us."

The atmosphere was sombre as licensees discussed how the announcement would effect their business.

"It means price increases [at the bar] will have to come through," says Conrad Sturt of the Half Moon at Windlesham, Surrey.

"Although we are a freetrade outlet it's still cheaper for us to go to Tesco than to go through the wholesale system."

Sharp, Enterprise Inns lessee of the Kings Arms in London's Borough, says: "People who are tied to a pubco have little choice. When you can buy boxes of beer for £9.99 and we pay £20 there's a massive disparage."

Adding, say, 20p to pint will mean his business will "lose customers left, right and centre" - even among city workers. "They will just drink in door because they can go to Tesco."

Another Enterprise licensee, Gary Duff-Godfrey of the Thornbury Castle in Marylebone, believes the extra duty on fuel will have a knock-on effect on food costs.

As for the extra alcohol duty, he said: "My margins will go down, I'll put prices up. By the time is filters through to the top line it will be more than that [2% increase]."

The licensee has seen trade hit after a Woolworths HQ near his pub was shut - its staff accounted for 18% of his trade. "We are trying to attract new people. It's going to make my job that much harder if, when we do get them in, we hit them with higher prices."

Fuller's retail director Mike Clist said: "A lot of people are still trading to the same level but they are making less money. That's the problem."

He highlighted how the added duty comes on top of the myriad of other regulatory burdens that licensees face, from health and safety to licensing costs.

"I was hoping he [Darling] would give some respite to their business. He just doesn't bloody listen."

Referring to the Axe the Tax campaign, Clist said: "I think this was the most concerting effort by the trade to get through to this idiot Chancellor and he has just ignored it."

But despite gaining a high profile, with wide coverage in national papers and even the support of six out of 10 MPs, Axe the Tax did fail. So what can the trade do to make the Government listen?

"It shows yet again that we've got to prove to the Government we are so important for the economy," says BII chief executive Neil Robertson. "That's something we have to reflect on."

Chris MacLean, Shepherd Neame tenant of the Railway Hotel in Faversham, Kent, says the BII must ensure there's "clear water" between pubs and supermarkets when the Government considers regulation and taxes.

"We have not yet managed to bring people's attention to what we do in the community. We need to be very clear in our message. We are innkeepers. It's not all about selling drink."

Sharp adds: "As ALMR [Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers] has pointed out, we need to speak to Government with a united front and stop squabbling.

"The one thing we have to agree on is that we have a problem with the guy up there [Darling]. He's not even listing to his own MPs."