Pub Companies

Susan Elan Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 9th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Susan Elan Jones (Clwyd South) (Lab)]

It is a great privilege to follow the hon. Member for Pendle (Andrew Stephenson) and speak in this hugely important debate.

History was made on 29 October 2011 at the Buck House hotel in Bangor-on-Dee, when Wrexham lager was officially relaunched. Wrexham lager is Britain’s oldest lager brew, first brewed in 1882. The company went through a huge array of changes until in 1992 it became part of Carlsberg-Tetley. Eight years later, the brew suffered from a faraway management decision that allowed Wrexham lager to continue being brewed, but nowhere near Wrexham. In 2002, the brew ceased totally. Its current incarnation is testimony to the work of a few dedicated individuals, including my predecessor, Martyn Jones, who was a microbiologist at the brewery.

It is vital that we encourage diversity in brewing and bring in the statutory code, because of small breweries such as the one that produces Wrexham lager. Today there has been much discussion about the number of pubs that have closed. One such is the Ty’n y Capel pub in Minera in my constituency, a hostelry with a heritage going back to the 13th century. The pub has now closed but people in that small village are determined to get it reopened. They have been awarded a lottery grant and local residents are busy purchasing shares. It is now our job, and the job of Government, to support them in reopening this vital community facility.

As the hon. Member for Pendle said, there is rightful concern about the abuse of alcohol and binge drinking. This concern is as valid today as it was in any previous generation. That is partly why this debate is so important, because only by supporting genuinely local community and family-oriented pubs can we tackle the most unpleasant aspects of the revolting all-you-can-drink subculture that has led to devastating consequences, not least domestic violence.

[Mr Robin Walker (Worcester) (Con)]

The hon. Lady is making a very interesting point. Does she agree that some of the problems with the binge-drinking culture lie particularly with the very high-strength alcohols? Will she join me in urging the Government, who have already looked at differential duties, to consider a lower duty on ordinary beers that are sold in the pub and a much higher duty on the very highest-strength alcohols that often lead to some of the problems of domestic violence and binge drinking?

[Susan Elan Jones]

There is a very strong case for that; the hon. Gentleman makes an interesting and a good point.

I could not speak in a debate such as this, and I modestly have not yet done so, without mentioning with great pride the Bridge End pub in Ruabon, to which my hon. Friend the Member for Wrexham (Ian Lucas) referred. It was last year’s CAMRA pub of the year, and it has just secured another prestigious award—it is now Welsh pub of the year for 2013. It has renowned quizzes and local brews, and it not only brings together our local community but has become part of the tourist experience for everyone who visits the uniquely beautiful part of north Wales that I feel privileged to represent. That is an amazing achievement for a pub that reopened only in 2009. It is a great tribute to the pub, to the McGivern family who run it, and to Ruabon.

It is because of the Ty’n y Capel, the Bridge End, Wrexham lager and the Buck House hotel, as well as the need to take alcohol out of the abuse zone, that we need to regulate the relationship between large companies and their tenants and licensees. It is vital that we do that now, and it is so good that the House has spoken on this issue.