Richard Holden, Member of Parliament for North West Durham, is leading 76 Conservative MPs in a key campaign to see a ‘Draught Beer Duty’ introduced.
Following the restrictions introduced as a result of coronavirus, many pubs and clubs are struggling to survive and will be unable to reopen once restrictions are lifted. Earlier this year, Richard led a successful campaign that saw the Chancellor cut beer duty in the Spring Budget 2021 in his role as a prominent member of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group. You can read about this here.
Richard has now written to the Chancellor requesting a specific Draught Beer Duty. Pointing out the important social as well as economic contribution pubs make to communities across the country, Richard stated it is ‘vital’ that more be done to ensure the survival of pubs, and that pubs employ a higher rate of staff than supermarket outlets. A cut in draught beer duty would ensure support for wet led pubs and would be a ‘huge boost’ to this industry. 98% of draught beer drunk in the UK is brewed in the UK.
76 Conservative MPs have backed Richard’s campaigning, including ex-Cabinet Ministers Sir Iain Duncan-Smith, Ester Mcvey and Karen Bradley. Richard’s North East colleagues Dehenna Davison, Member of Parliament for Bishop Auckland, and Paul Howell, Member of Parliament for Sedgefield, have also thrown their weight behind Richard’s campaign.
Commenting, Richard Holden, Member of Parliament for North West Durham, said:
“Our pubs are at the very heart of our communities and lockdown has hit them incredibly hard. The Government support for this industry has been vital, but they’ve been closed for so long and need to rebuild. I am incredibly concerned about pubs in my constituency and across the country being left unable to reopen as a result of the costs they have incurred due to the coronavirus restrictions.
“A draught beer duty would help pubs to both survive and thrive and leaving the European Union has provided us with a unique opportunity to offer this support. Nearly all the draught beer drunk in the UK is brewed here – the knock-on effect of introducing a draught beer duty would be ensuring that this continues, the whole industry is supported, and we maintain our precious brewing heritage.
“The fact that 75 other Conservative MPs are supporting the campaign shows that this is an issue that cuts across the country and affects many of our constituencies and local businesses. I sincerely hope that the Chancellor considers my request and I will continue to campaign on the issue and to work on behalf of the UK’s amazing pubs, clubs and bars.”
To hear more about the work that Richard is doing for North West Durham, you can sign up here or input your details in the form on this page.
