RIBBLE Valley MP Nigel Evans,has backed a new ‘Long Live the Local’ campaign by the Britain’s Beer Alliance opposing further rises in beer duty.
He is concerned that one in every three pounds spent in pubs goes to taxes, an average of £140,000 per pub every year.
Mr Evans, President of the Parliamentary Beer Group, is urging a cut in beer duty during the Autumn Budget to further revitalise the British pub economy.
The Tory MP said:“It is essential for villages and towns in the Ribble Valley and across the UK to keep local pubs alive.
"They serve as the hearts of our communities here in Lancashire, and the Government should consider the abject consequences of further increasing the level of tax they are expected to contribute. Currently, three pubs close every single day in the UK which shows the harsh environment landlords are battling, we must give them the chance to survive and then thrive.”
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