Beer Tax e-petition reaches landmark 100,000 signatures!

CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, was recently  delighted to celebrate with other members of the beer and pub industry as the Government e-petition calling on the abandonment of the beer duty escalator has exceeded the 100,000 signatures needed to trigger a Parliamentary debate.

The petition is only the 12^th Government e-petition - out of over 16,000 submitted - to have ever reached the 100,000 landmark.

The beer duty escalator, introduced by the last Government in 2008, and continued by the coalition, has successively penalised Britain’s beer drinkers by automatically increasing duty levels by 2% above inflation every year.

• As a result, tax on beer has increased by over 40% since 2008, with a third of every pub pint now being swallowed in tax. Over 4,500 pubs have also closed over this same period.
  
  
• CAMRA has invested significant resources into campaigning against the beer duty escalator, and major breakthroughs in the lead up to the petition securing 100,000 signatures included over 15,000 beer drinkers adding their names to it over the course of the Great British Beer Festival, held at London’s Olympia at the beginning of August (7^th-11^th).

With a Parliamentary debate now in prospect, CAMRA is ramping up the pressure on Government by announcing it is to hold a Mass Parliamentary Lobby in Westminster on Wednesday December 12^th, with over 1,000 people expected to attend from all corners of the UK to voice their discontent at punitive tax increases on Britain’s National Drink.

Attendees will be asking to speak to their respective local MPs, and seeking their support to protect the nation’s historic beer and pub industry.

Colin Valentine, CAMRA National Chairman, said:

‘CAMRA’s next step is not to rest on our laurels but to maintain the impetus with our Mass Parliamentary Lobby, which will reinforce to MPs the groundswell of support for this campaign. With all the battering it has taken, the beer and pub sector still manages to contribute over £21 billion a year to the UK’s GDP, and supports one million jobs, so it’s about time the Government honoured its pledge to be “pub friendly*”