Anti-beer duty campaigners release hard-hitting film
The Long Live the Local campaign said that in 2018, the Chancellor of the Exchequer listened to the voices of the 116,000 people who signed its petition and circa 50,000 people who wrote to their MP about the planned rise in beer duty and, as a result, beer tax was frozen at the Budget.
Britain’s Beer Alliance, which is a cross-industry group comprising independent pubs, pub companies, breweries and industry bodies, including the British Beer & Pub Association, is again calling for an end to ongoing beer duty rises to help pubs.
Vital role
The most recent instalment of the campaign is a 30-minute documentary, telling the story of the Horns Lodge pub, Chailey, East Sussex. It highlights the vital role pubs play in a community alongside the jeopardy they face.
The film stops in its tracks about six minutes in before it announces the pub has been empty since January 2019.
The remaining 24 minutes remains frozen on a message: “Three pubs a day close their doors for good. Sign the petition to cut beer tax.”
Emotive and powerful
Long Live the Local programme director David Cunningham said: “We are seeing even more support from pubgoers and publicans this year, driven by more emotive and powerful creative such as these films.
“When we deliver the petition to number 10, as many as 200,000 people will have signed, and close to 100,000 will have written to their MP, demonstrating just how much people care about local pubs.”
All activity aims to drive consumers to sign a petition at longlivethelocal.pub to say ‘no’ to the planned rise in beer duty, which will be delivered to 10 Downing Street ahead of the Autumn Budget.
