Three leading industry bodies in the brewing sector have written jointly to MPs this week asking them to support an Early Day Motion calling for a one penny cut in beer duty in the forthcoming Budget on March 16. The motion was tabled by Nigel Evans, Conservative MP for the Ribble Valley, on January 6 and currently has the support of 25 MPs from five…

The Responsibility Deal is teetering on a knife-edge and the drinks industry faces a series of tough battles after the general election, according to the Wine and Spirit Trade Association. Whatever the outcome of the election, the trade will probably be faced with a government that is increasingly keen to interfere in alcohol policy, the trade body warned. The Conservative party has not included the…

Scotland’s move to introduce minimum unit pricing on alcohol is “probably legal”, according to the government’s public health head Donald Henderson. Speaking at the Westminster Health Forum seminar on Alcohol – A New Approach to Responsible Drinking today (November 2), Henderson responded to a comment by UK public health minister Anne Milton last week that minimum pricing was “probably illegal”. He said: “The UK government…

Legislation to bring in minimum pricing is a certainty in Scotland, WSTA chief executive Jeremy Beadles has said. “I will guarantee you, in Scotland we will have legislation to bring in minimum pricing for alcohol by next year,” he told a debate at the London wine fair today (May 18). “The SNP have the votes to get that through,” he added. “I would also bet…