Pubs in Jeremy Hunt’s own constituency have warned they face a catastrophic winter if he raises alcohol duties again.
The Chancellor cut the duty charged on draught pints by 11p in August, but at the same time hiked levies on all other alcohol by an average of 10.1%.
A poll of landlords across the country found just 26% believe the changes were positive for their business. A majority (55%) said they have a negative outlook for the year ahead as they struggle with heating and food bills.
An overwhelming 92% would support a cut or freeze to duties in the Autumn Statement, with 77% saying reducing the levies on spirits duties would help boost their business. Just 17% said they associated the Conservative Party with supporting pubs, 63% said they did not.
Twenty pubs in Mr Hunt’s South West Surrey constituency have written an open letter to Mr Hunt urging him to freeze duties in the Autumn Statement next week. They said: “In August, you increased alcohol duty by 10.1% and now, less than six months later, we are concerned you will do the same again. We cannot sustain these tax rises.
“The hike in spirits duty is damaging the hospitality industry as we struggle to recover from the pandemic and cope with significant cost pressures in areas such as energy and food. We dread the forthcoming winter and can already see customer numbers start to fall, yet we have no choice but to continue to heat our pubs even if there is nobody in them.”
The pubs include the Fox and Finch in Godalming, the Three Compasses in Cranleigh and the White Horse, Haslemere.
In August, Rishi Sunak was heckled while pouring a pint at a beer festival in west London. Rudi Keyser, who runs a pub in Wimbledon, loudly yelled: “Prime Minister, oh the irony that you're raising alcohol duty on the day that you're pulling a pint.”
Survation interviewed 200 pub and bar owners and managers online in Great Britain on November 1 to 6 on behalf of the UK Spirits Alliance (UKSA).