Adam Withrington: Isn't this a Fair point? - Part 2

OK. So not everyone agreed with my blog last week. Honestly I'm glad it has generated this much debate. The tie is an issue which needs an open public airing.

The irony is, my blog was not really about the intricacies of the tie at all. But about the power of Fair Pint and the impact it has had on the industry campaign to get rid of the alcohol duty escalator (and for those of you who feel that I am a supporter of the industry's lobbying efforts over duty, you really should read this blog more often!).

Many readers suggested that this was complete hogwash. I have had emails this week from several members of Fair Pint who have said it is quite ridiculous to accept that Fair Pint has had that much impact. "You flatter us," said one mail from group member Mike Bell.

In a comment on my blog Mark Dodds said: "If you seriously think the government got off the hook because 10 people, working voluntarily to point out the scandalous reality of what goes on behind the scenes in pubcos and their relations with licensees, beat the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) with full time employees and the ear of the government you're incredibly naive."

Well I would suggest they are both completely unaware of what is going on politically. And that is the government's desire to shift any blame for the woes of the pub trade away from themselves. And the tie is perfect because any problems that exist with it cannot be blamed on New Labour - unlike smoking and duty.

And I am emphatically not going to comment on whether the case for the tie being the single cause of all pub closures is proveable or not. But I would say it is no more or less provable today than it was last year, or three years before that. The difference is the political landscape has changed. The pub trade finally has a story to tell that the government cannot dismiss.

For a decade the government hasn't cared one bit for the big industry issues: like the price of beer, or more recently supermarket pricing. And until this year it has not cared one bit about licensees, pub companies and the tie.

But since the BBPA released figures announcing that 39 pubs are closing a week it has struck a raw nerve with the government. Pub closures are like Post Office closures. They garner big headlines and in Downing Street's view, will affect the way people vote. They could not afford the closures to be blamed on the government.

I was first convinced of this when in January I was present at a meeting with several key civil servants in the Treasury. At that point it was clear to me they felt they had to find something to deflect blame away from them. The tie was their answer.

And so it has transpired. Suddenly more MPs are interested in this issue when they had no interest before. Early day motions are being laid down in Parliament. And then we have the Downing Street Budget meeting where virtually every question Treasury minister Angela Eagle fired at the BBPA was about the tie and not on the subject at hand, duty. Every source I have at every level has confirmed this happened.

And no matter how modest its members appear to be, I think Fair Pint does deserve some credit for this. It has, with its very well-paid lobby firm Connect [industry estimates suggest the company receives a high six-figure annual sum for its services], done an outstanding job lobbying on its stated aims to government.

But nothing happens in government unless the political will is there. If we weren't in the pits of recession, with pub closures hitting the headlines I doubt the government would have even listened to Fair Pint's views. That is the sad truth.