Beer Duty Escalator

Bob Russell Excerpts

Thursday 1st November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir Bob Russell (Colchester) (LD)]

I wish to pay tribute to Mr John Parrick, the doyen of Colchester’s publicans and the town’s longest-serving landlord, who in little more than three months will celebrate 27 years as “mine host” of the Odd One Out public house, which I had the honour to open officially on 16 February 1985. The former Mermaid pub had been shut almost a year earlier by the late brewers Ind Coope and John Parrick, a former military policeman who at the time was a staff sergeant at the military corrective training centre in Colchester, left the Army and took the bold step, alongside his wife Bridget, of taking on the abandoned hostelry, which he has turned into an incredible success story, a dream establishment for those who appreciate real beer and real cider.

Under Mr Parrick’s stewardship, The Odd One Out has won many local and regional awards from the Campaign for Real Ale for its range of real beers and ciders. His is a traditional pub, which resonates with a bygone age and has been in the “Good Beer Guide” for 25 consecutive years. However, such is the plight of community pubs—and not exclusively because of the high taxation imposed by successive Governments—that Mr Parrick’s reward is lower than the minimum wage, given all the long hours that he is putting in. He made that clear to me last night that, having studied the economics and the balance sheet. The situation must be even more dire for many other community pubs that do not have the niche appeal of The Odd One Out, particularly if they are tied to the onerous terms of pubcos and brewers.

I hope that this debate will lead to the Government’s restructuring of the taxation on alcoholic drinks. If the coalition is serious about localism, it should know that the local pub is an important part of many of our urban and rural communities. Fiscal policy should be tailored to help small community businesses, including neighbourhood public houses, which are shutting at the rate of a dozen or so every week.

Sadly, a cut in the tax levied on beer sold in community pubs is too late to save The Maypole and The Drury Arms in my constituency, which both shut earlier this year—or, for that matter, The Beer House and The Clarendon, which are currently closed, although many hope that the closures will be temporary. There is uncertainty at The Britannia, which shut recently, although there is talk of its reopening as a gastropub, and at The Lord Nelson, which displays a “For Sale” sign.

I am grateful to Colchester historian Mr Jess Jephcott, author of “The Inns, Taverns and Pubs of Colchester”; he has provided me with useful comments about the decline of the local pub, that great British institution, because of the actions and inactions of successive Governments. Today’s debate about the beer duty escalator must not be viewed in isolation as we look at this sorry saga. Mr Jephcott is an authority on public houses, both historic and contemporary, so I value what he says. He told me:

“Whilst the Beer Escalator issue is an important one, and does play a part in the loss of our pubs, there is a far more damaging issue—that of pubcos imposing unrealistic terms on their tenants. I have this week been reading about Vince Cable’s frustrations with self-regulation over this. It is the pubcos that are killing our pubs, to my mind.”

With great emphasis, he added:

“Tenants are tied to the pubco and cannot shop around and negotiate prices. That is precisely what is killing many of our pubs.”

He says that free houses, or those free of tie arrangement, thrive:

“Cases in Colchester are The Odd One Out, Fat Cat, etc. No tie, no problem.”

Mr Jephcott concluded, with a sigh:

“This is our heritage as well as our way of life. Yet Colchester is plagued by drunks who get drunk before they go out and by bars that make matters worse with their special deals to get them drunker.”

That scenario, of course, afflicts towns and cities throughout the country. Successive Governments have failed to address the scandal. Taxation policies have made matters worse. We need to amend the tax levy on beer sold in our traditional public houses. We should have a tax-neutral approach to keep the Treasury happy and bring huge social benefits, including job retention and creation, rather than there being the loss of jobs that we continue to witness in the sector.

Most publicans of neighbourhood and village public houses run responsible establishments. Their customers should be rewarded, not financially penalised because of the irresponsible marketing carried out by supermarkets and mega-drinking establishments.

I should declare an interest: Adnams Broadside, brewed on the Suffolk coast at Southwold, is my favourite tipple. Some have suggested that I should promote the former Essex brewer Ridley’s Old Bob beer, which has now been absorbed within Greene King’s product range, but I will stay loyal to Adnams and Broadside.

In conclusion, I should say that this debate is taking place in British pub week. I commend those who have secured the debate. I shall resist the temptation of listing every public house in my constituency, but they are all doing a grand job and I hope that they can all be saved.

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[Andrew Griffiths]

I thank all colleagues who have contributed to the debate so passionately and knowledgably, and I thank the Economic Secretary to the Treasury and the Minister responsible for community pubs, who has been present throughout. Both I and my colleague, the hon. Member for Leeds North West (Greg Mulholland) have been encouraged by the positive way in which both Ministers have engaged with the issue in the few short weeks they have been in office.

We are clearly disappointed that the Minister was not able to give us more positive news from the Dispatch Box, but he should be in no doubt about the clear view of the House. Every Member who has contributed to this over-subscribed debate, has spoken out against the beer duty escalator and in favour of Britain’s pubs and brewers. Let me assure the Minister that we will not let the matter rest there, and he would not expect us to. We will continue this campaign because it is not just a business or brewery that is at stake, but the future of a central part of our communities. We will continue to campaign and do all we can to save Britain’s pubs and breweries.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House welcomes the essential contribution of brewing and pubs to the UK’s economy in providing one million jobs; notes the 42 per cent increase in beer duty since 2008 and HM Treasury forecasts that have shown that there will be no additional revenue generated from beer duty despite planned increases over the next two years; is therefore concerned about the effectiveness of this policy in tackling the Budget deficit, its impact on valued community pubs and the continued affordability of beer in pubs; and therefore urges the Government to support the UK’s beer and pub sector by conducting a thorough review of the economic and social impact of the beer duty escalator to report back before the 2013 Budget.

[Sir Bob Russell (Colchester) (LD)]

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. Would it be possible for you to discuss with Mr Speaker the conduct of the previous debate? Injury time was given on numerous occasions owing to hon. Members almost wandering in off the street, lobbing a bit into the debate and then disappearing. Perhaps injury time should not be allowed. In particular, the hon. Member for Bedford (Richard Fuller) and my hon. Friend the Member for North Cornwall (Dan Rogerson), were prevented from giving their thoughtful speeches in full, yet they were signatories to the motion.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

I have a lot of sympathy with the hon. Gentleman, although as he knows, that is not a point of order. He may wish to take the matter up with the Procedure Committee and it will then be for the House to decide.