Long Live the Local campaign calls for cut in beer tax

Britain's Beer Alliance (BBA) has launched the Long Live the Local campaign, calling for a tax cut for beer.

The campaign, which uses the hashtag #longlivethelocal, has seen people showing their support for the pub industry across social media networks.

Campaigners have also started a petition campaigning for a tax reduction, saying that onerous rates are causing pubs to close every day.

The BBA says that one pound in every three spent in pubs goes to the taxman.

Campaigners have written: "The industry needs a cut in beer duty, but the government is planning an increase. Beer duty is now linked to RPI and that means it's likely that beer duty will increase by at least 3% at the next budget and every year for the foreseeable future.

"The last time beer duty increased year-on-year was between 2008 and 2013 when the government put a beer duty escalator in place. The impact on the beer and pub sector was catastrophic, within five years there was a 24% decline in beer sales, 5,000 pubs closed and 58,000 people lost their jobs."

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