Tuesday, 10th March 2009

The battle to save the traditional British pub is being stepped up by UKIP.  Already well known for speaking out against the slow extinction of the British pub, through a combination of the over-taxing of beer and over-zealous health and safety legislation, UKIP chose National No Smoking Day to start a "Save the Pub" petition, with its own website www.savethepub.co.uk. The site also features an important UKIP policy document, "Pubs and Smoking", which contains far-reaching proposals aimed at keeping British pubs open.

David Campbell Bannerman, the party’s Deputy Leader and Eastern Counties lead candidate in the European election said: "There is nothing more traditionally British than the local pub, but we are losing them at a rate of around 40 a week and they may be wiped out unless there is a major effort to save them.

"UKIP has a whole range of ideas for turning this situation round. Among other things, we would cut the duty on draught beers, real ale, cider and some lagers. We would introduce a Royal Commission to investigate beer pricing to sort out the current problems with wholesale prices, which strongly disadvantage pubs.
 
"We would also cut business rates on community pubs and remove local authorities from the licensing process.  Community pubs play a role in social cohesion through providing a comfortable environment for people to meet and talk.  They are also a controlled drinking environment which offers a bulwark against the binge drinking problem.
 
"In regard to the smoking ban, we fully recognise its popularity in many parts of the community, but UKIP would take a more flexible approach toward its enforcement in pubs, which would be allowed to have separate, contained and well-ventilated smoking rooms as well as outside smoking areas using patio heaters. The EU ban on patio heaters is absurd as their impact on the environment is negligible and certainly not worth the loss of an important local amenity".
 
For more information and to sign the Save the Pub petition, go to www.savethepub.co.uk. To read UKIP's "Pubs and Smoking" policy paper, please click HERE

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