Express & Star

MP in call to save British pub trade

A Black Country MP has called for beer duty to be slashed in a bid to save the region's struggling pub trade.

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Dudley South MP Mike Wood wants the Government to help save the pub trade

Mike Wood says he wants to see a reverse in the "worrying trend" that has seen hundreds of pubs close down in the Black Country over the past decade, including 23 in his Dudley South constituency.

Among those to go are the Dock & Iron in Brierley Hill, which closed in 2015 and is being replaced by bungalows, The Bridge in Brockmoor and The Fox & Goose in Kingswinford, which is now a Tesco Express.

Conservative MP Mr Wood says that despite the trade's struggles, it still contributes millions to the region's economy, with the 73 pubs in Dudley South supporting more than 1,000 jobs.

He is backing the Long Live the Local Campaign, joining more than 240,000 people in signing a petition to help keep pub doors open through measures such as cutting beer duty and business rates reform.

The campaign is fronted by Britain’s Beer Alliance, a group of publicans and microbreweries who are celebrating pubs and raising awareness of the challenges they face.

Mr Wood, who chair the All Party Parliamentary Group on beer, said: "Pubs are such an important part of the community, creating hundreds of jobs and boosting the local economy.

"Sadly too many of them are closing for good up and down the country, we need to reverse that trend, and one way we can do that is by looking at practical measures such as cutting beer duty and business rates reform.

"I’ll be doing everything I can within Government to increase support for these community hubs. We need to keep them open and we need them to do well."

New figures show that pubs in Dudley South contribute around £34m each year to the local economy. However, £1 in every £3 spent in UK pubs goes to the taxman, while British drinkers now pay 40 per cent of all beer tax across the EU but drink only 12 per cent of the beer.

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said: "Beer duty has increased by 60 per cent over the last 17 years and now the UK has one of the highest rates of tax in Europe.

"When over two thirds of all alcoholic drinks purchased in the pub are beers, a cut in beer tax would go a long way to protecting pubs across Dudley South.

"We are very grateful to Mike Wood for his support for the Long Live the Local campaign, and hope that the Government listens to MPs across Parliament and the thousands of people across the country who are calling for a cut in beer tax to protect our pubs."