Griffiths: New men could be key to pub trade's future

11-Oct-2012 - Last updated on 12-Mar-2017 at 00:14 GMT

Related tags Beer Public house Brewery

Griffiths: "The one thing we can all agree on is our need for friends in government"

No-one involved in brewing or pubs and bars can fail to be aware of the impact of government on their business. It was government that imposed the smoking ban, government that brought in the late-night levy, and government that introduced the beer-duty escalator that cripples the country’s brewers and has played a part in the closure of thousands of pubs.

The one thing we can all agree on is our need for friends in government. It is for this reason the British Beer & Pub Association, the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, Society of Independent Brewers, the Campaign for Real Ale and others expend time on making the case for the industry.

Governments of all colours have imposed red tape and costs on pubs.

So politicians that make those decisions in government matter. With that in mind I turned my thoughts to whether the recent reshuffle would be good or bad for pubs. We have two new men in post.

First is the pubs minister, from likeable Bob Neill to the new man, Brandon Lewis. Lewis is young, a businessman, and a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group. He worked his shift behind one of his local pubs as part of my beer group initiative.

With Lewis in the Department for Communities & Local Government, we might have found somebody not only interested enough to be a champion for pubs in government, but also with the acumen to do it.

But power lies with money, and the Treasury is all powerful. Many in the trade felt ex-Treasury minister Justine Greening understood, but had little chance to fight our corner amid the cutbacks and initiatives to raise finance in the early years of a coalition government hell bent on paying down the debt. Her replacement, Chloe Smith, had neither the interest in pubs nor the experience to take on the settled view of the civil servants in Whitehall.

Yet her replacement is a different kettle of fish. Sajid Javid, another new boy to Parliament in 2010 as Bromsgrove MP, comes with impressive credentials. Formerly parliamentary private secretary to George Osborne, he is close to the Chancellor and an effective operator.

Our challenge is to convince Javid the Treasury is on the wrong track where beer duty is concerned, and show the part brewing and pubs could play in delivering growth and jobs if we had a sympathetic approach to tax.

No one person can change government policy, but we have to convince a government committed to deficit reduction that cutting duty could result
in more income and jobs.

The new men with their backsides in those ministerial Priuses might just be key to our future.