Liam Byrne, who chairs the House of Common’s Business Committee, said pubs, brewing and beers were key to the success of the country, communities and the economy.
Speaking to delegates at the dinner in London, he said: “Let me just begin with a simple truth, you can’t rebuild Britain without backing pubs and you can’t renew our communities without beer.
“And so if you are serious about building and rebuilding our country from the ground up, you’ve got to make sure that we get the cornerstones of our communities rock solid.”
He said the inquiry being conducted by the APPBG into how the beer and pub sector can drive economic growth was vital, and they would be taking the evidence from is into their own inquiry on the business committee which will be looking at “how we make sure that our country is the best place to start a business and the best place to grow a business.”
Voice in the corridors of power
He said that he and members like Joshua Reynolds MP work hard on the business committee to make sure “we are the bridge between the business community and parliament that helps make sure your voice is heard in the corridors of power”. He said his committee was determined to make sure the small business voice was heard loud and clear.
He said he was hearing the same refrain from small business owners: “‘We can’t put up prices any further. We can’t take any more money out of our customers.’ We’ve got to now make sure the costs are coming down, if we are going to be the sector that grows stronger and stronger, creating the jobs for young people. Creating economic growth, not in some kind of theoretical way, but in the communities that we all came into Parliament to serve.
“Everywhere you look costs are going up, but prices can’t go up anymore so margins are being squeezed, and that is creating problems up and down communities.
“And if you take a step back and you think about what that is doing to our community way of life, it’s destroying it. If you’ve got one in seven businesses on the high street now shuttered, that’s the soul kicked out of high streets and our community and we came into politics to try and change that kind of thing.”
Work with MPs
He urged small businesses to work with their MPs to give them their points of view: “Help them understand the reality of trying to do business when costs are rising and prices can’t go any further up. We can’t get it right without your help. We’re determined to be your voice, but we can’t do it without you.
“Our pubs are not doomed, but they are endangered and brewers are not out of time but they do need a government that is on their side.”