Candice Brown calls for beer tax cut at Downing Street
The Great British Bake Off winner-turned-pub operator Brown runs the Green Man in Eversholt, Bedfordshire.
Brown attended Downing Street along with Gaynor Hindley from the Woodthorpe, Bury, Greater Manchester; Kate Ross from the Admiralty, central London; Gavin Stevenson from Gellions, Inverness; Are Kolltveit from the Chandos Arms, Colindale, north London; and Thomas Ledsham from the Snooty Fox in Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria.
The licensees took the Long Live The Local petition to the Prime Minister’s front door, which aims to demonstrate how important the local pub is to communities and show the significant role pubs play in British culture.
Call for support
Long Live The Local is a campaign, backed by Britain’s Beer Alliance, that celebrates the positive role that pubs play in our lives and communities. It highlights the jeopardy that our pubs face from a range of tax pressures, including beer duty, business rates and VAT.
For more information on Long Live The Local and to sign the petition, please visit here.
At the time of writing, 208,795 people have signed the Long Live The Local petition, which calls on the Government to cut beer duty.
Since January 2019, 101,087 people have sent letters to their MPs, asking for their support to stop local pubs from closing.
Brown said: “I am at Downing Street today to stand up for something I firmly believe in – the local pub.
“A belief I share with more than 200,000 people. Pubs need support from the Government to survive and today we implore the Chancellor to cut beer duty to help keep pubs open and prevent communities from shouldering the social and cultural cost of losing them.”
Increasing pressure
Long Live The Local programme director David Cunningham said pubs closing was an issue close to many people’s hearts.
He added: “We urge the Government to listen to the hundreds of thousands of Brits who have signed the petition already and cut beer duty at the next Budget.
“Pubs are under increasing pressure. Action needs to be taken to help them and the communities they serve.”
