Breweries must unite behind the British pub industry

David Grant, managing director of Moorhouse’s Brewery, is wrong to call for the scrapping of tax relief for brewers who produce less than 3,000 barrels a year. Instead they should be joining forces with breweries of any size to lobby against excessive duty on UK-made beer.

Micro-breweries play an important part in a marketplace increasingly dominated by multi-national breweries by keeping traditional real ale at the forefront of the Great British pub-going experience. I would hate to see the number of micro-breweries fall if important tax relief is axed.

Wholesale reform of beer tax is long overdue. The recent budget which saw just a measly one penny of duty cut from a pint of beer does not go far enough, especially when you consider that VAT, at 20%, makes visiting a pub to enjoy a pint of real ale very costly anyway. It is little wonder more people drink at home.

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With the future of the British pub at stake, small and medium-sized breweries must unite and get behind the pub industry and fight to drastically reduce the tax on UK-made beer.

Paul Nuttall, UKIP Burnley MEP

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