CAMRA- Keep our Pubs Afloat

I am enthusiastic about beer and believe that pubs should be cherished institutions and vital community hubs that must be protected. I believe strongly in supporting the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and local pub owners. This includes backing a reduction in beer duty and I have raised this with the chancellor before, and will continue to push for it in the coming months.

I was proud to stand on a Labour manifesto in 2017, that strongly condemned the pressure on our pubs and the number of them shutting their doors forever and pledged a national review ‘to examine the causes for their large-scale demise, as well as establishing a joint taskforce that will consider future sustainability.’ This is a pledge that I remain fully committed to achieving and will push the government on this issue.

I was also one of the parliamentary candidates in the 2017 General Election to sign CAMRA’s ‘Pledge for Pubs’ and will continue to work across the House to support our local pubs. I have also taken steps to support local brewers, including arranging for a beer brewed by the Sussex arm of Veterans Brewing, .303 Golden Ale, to be put on tap at the Stranger’s bar in the House of Commons.

I am also please to have signed EDM 1233, which reads:

This House notes that pubs are at the heart of communities across the UK; welcomes ongoing cross-party efforts to protect the British pub; acknowledges that an increasing number of pubs are diversifying in order to provide an ever more valuable and enjoyable offer to their customers; further notes that pubs provide employment for over 900,000 people and contribute £23 billion to the economy; however, acknowledges that latest research by the Campaign for Real Ale highlights that 18 pubs are still closing every week; recognises that recent changes in planning law and taxation have helped the industry, but more still needs to be done to help pubs; and therefore calls on the Government to take further steps to support pubs which reduces the tax burden will enshrine the valuable role the great British pub plays in UK society.