Sir, Another 4p on a pint in the Budget — “these measures will help reduce binge drinking,” says Alistair Darling (news, March 12). Did the Chancellor actually consult anyone in the industry before he made such a rash judgment?

As a licensee of what you could truly describe as a traditional English pub, I cannot hide my rage at this budget. The Labour Government, I have to say, has hardly done me any favours in recent years as it is.

Licensing reform that allowed later drinking also meant that the whole system changed from being enforced by the magistrates to being run by councils. This of course cost me a small fortune: to relicense the pub, and then get myself a personal licence — because that is the way the Government wanted it.

Then, of course, it brought in the smoking ban, in July 2007.

Whatever the Government likes to say, this has had a detrimental effect on thousands of businesses similar to mine and has led to the closure of many pubs, mainly the smaller ones.

Putting beer tax up another 4p will not reduce any binge-drinking problem in Britain.

The sort of people who like to go out and drink, fight and throw up on the streets of Britain are hardly likely to change their philosophy over that. No, the majority of them are young people, living with their mums and dads and going out on a drinking binge is a luxury they can easily afford.

An extra few pence will not stop them having the last tequila slammer at the end of the night to push them over the edge.

What this price rise will do is affect the old-fashioned pubs like mine — the sort of pubs that do not have binge drinkers crowding into them; the sort of pubs where the only appearance made by the local police is at an off-duty thirsty moment.

Because many smaller pubs are on ties with breweries, we already find it hard to compete with the large, corporately owned venues.

They can afford to outprice us, so the extra 4p just makes it harder for us to stop the punters heading for the “stack ‘em high, sell ‘em cheap” bars.

So, what is hilariously ironic is that the extra few pence on the pint is far more likely to close down the pubs that do not cause a problem. The places that do not mind serving people who have consumed so much that they cannot pronounce the beer properly when they order it will survive — and the binge-drinking culture will thrive.

Matt Taylor
Licensee of The Unicorn Inn,
Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent

Sir, The Chancellor has done nothing to bring down the cost of living especially for the people who live on state pension alone. The increase of £50 in winter fuel allowance is too little, too late.

Hyder Ali Pirwany
Okehampton, Devon

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