Pub industry in plea over Budget tax rise

Thousands of pubs face closure if the chancellor presses ahead with a rise in beer duty in this month's Budget, the industry has warned. Britain's Beer Alliance, made up of individual publicans and brewers, is urging drinkers to contact their MP. A report estimates 6,000 pubs could go over the next five years, along with about 12,500 jobs. The Alliance estimates that over the five years, there was a 24% fall in beer sales in pubs, 5,000 pubs closed and 58,000 people lost their jobs. To drum up support for the pub sector, the industry has launched a "Long Live the Local" petition, which already has more than 80,000 signatures. "Seven in ten of all alcoholic drinks are beer. It has a disproportionate impact for a pub verses a supermarket," said David Cunningham, project director at Britain's Beer Alliance.

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