Pub chain backs bid to ban Alistair Darling

Apr 24 2008

Britain’s biggest pub chain today backed a bid to ban Chancellor Alistair Darling from every pub in the land.

Punch Taverns, which operates nearly 8,500 pubs, said it was “extremely disappointed” about the alcohol duty rises imposed in March’s Budget.

They included 4p on a pint of beer and 55p on a bottle of spirits, sparking an industry-wide campaign to bar the chancellor from Britain’s pubs.

Announcing its interim results, Punch said: “We were particularly disappointed that the Government fails to recognise the important and beneficial role that the pub and traditional brewers make to the British economy and the communities that they serve.

“We support the industry’s call to ban the Chancellor of the Exchequer from every pub in the land.”

Chief executive Giles Thorley said the duty hikes would not achieve the goal of reducing binge drinking but would drive people instead into the arms of cheaper supermarkets.

He said: “I think it will be detrimental to the pub industry.

“The Government has the ability to impose that level of above-inflation duty rise, and the Government has the ability to change it.”

Mr Thorley said the decision to ban Mr Darling from a pub rested with individual landlords, but he said: “We thought we would support the campaign.”

Punch - which owns The Red Lion on Whitehall, thought to be the closet pub to the Chancellor’s residence at 11 Downing Street - saw pre-tax profits rise 1% to £133 million for the 28 weeks ended March 1.