A petition launched in April by beer writer Johnny Garrett, following the UK’s accession to UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), closed last month with 41,026 signatures.
The highest number of signatures (267) came from Beckenham and Penge in Greater London, and the district’s MP Liam Conlon has urged fellow parliamentarians to join him in submitting evidence to the Government to back the petition.
“We’re seeing a revival of cask ale; more people are choosing to drink it. It’s got a strong history in this country. The Government is putting together an inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage in the UK and cask ale should be a part of that,” he told The Morning Advertiser (The MA).
Government responses to petitions are triggered at 10,000 signatures, while 100,000 could prompt a parliamentary debate, which means the process is now reliant on industry-led submissions, Colon said.
“There probably won’t be a debate on it in Parliament, but the next step is for submissions to be made about why cask ale should be included in the list.”
Uniquely British
He added: “Cask is a uniquely British tradition. Nowhere else in the world could you find a 20-year-old bar worker who knows how to tap a keg of cask ale.”
Conlon also praised operators in Beckenham and Penge for driving support for the petition as well as supporting the community and raising funds for local causes, including St Christopher’s Hospice and the rugby club.
“We’re very fortunate we’ve got a thriving [hospitality] scene in Beckenham and Penge. [Local operators] have really been pushing this petition and getting people to sign it and letting people know what the campaign’s about.”
The Labour MP added: “We’ve seen a lot of our pubs close, unfortunately, over the years, but they are places where people come together, make friends, and they’re at the very heart of our community.”
Urging others to back the petition, he continued: “I would say to other MPs, they’ll be many in a similar situation to me where they’ve seen pubs close, but there are thriving places in constituencies up and down the country. It’s more than a pint, it’s about the people in those places and about community and this will help recognise that.
“So I would say to other MPs to join me in supporting this, but also, I’d say to publicans, get in touch with your MP and ask them to support it. That’s something you can practically do to help make this happen.”
The ICH convention, introduced in the UK in June last year, covers oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge related to nature and the universe, and traditional craftsmanship, in a bid to preserve these traditions and pass them onto the next generation.
Protecting hospitality
In April, the Department for Culture, Media & Sport said it “would welcome a submission from the cask ale community on the production and serving of traditional British cask ale”, with inclusion dependent on meeting UNESCO criteria.
With Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ autumn Budget just over a week away, Conlon, whose parents once ran a pub, also called on the Government to prioritise measures to protect hospitality businesses.
He said: “We need a much fairer business rates system to reduce financial pressures on pubs and restaurants, and the Government has started that reform and is working with the hospitality sector on it.
“That’s really important because we don’t want to see closed shops and pubs on high streets and the cost of doing in person trade is higher than big online retailers like Amazon.”
Conlon added simplifying licensing laws would also be a “positive step forward”.
