As of Sunday the price of a pint will be 1p less, ending the beer duty escalator that would have added 3p to a pint, as announced in the 2013 Budget. However the 2% above inflation duty rise continues for other drinks, adding 10p to a bottle of wine and 53p to a litre bottle of spirits.
Pub and beer groups heralded the news as a welcome boost to the flagging pub industry, which has seen 10,000 pubs closed in the last 10 years. Last year the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) led on a petition calling for a freeze on duty, which achieved over 100,000k signatures and a parliamentary debate. > > > > Read More