Time for a rethink on alcohol pricing?

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By Robert Peaty

My local pub recently closed. So what you may ask. It’s a shame but there are plenty of pubs, bars and clubs about. However, that is not true for those who, like me, live in rural areas and don’t have a plethora of boozers to choose from.

Pubs were once the heart of rural communities; now they are increasingly few and far between. It is not just rural areas that suffer; pubs in the more deprived areas of our cities are also closing thick and fast, representing the transformation of these areas from communities to ghettos. For us, the fact that, on average, 30 pubs close in this country every week is deeply worrying. It is hardly surprising either; the average price for a pint in a pub is £3 in comparison it is possible to buy a can of been in the supermarket for as little as 50p.

It’s not just beer that’s victim to this disparity. In a pub or bar the average price for a single vodka and mixer is about £2.50. At this price why bother going out when you can get a whole bottle of vodka and a mixer for £9; one can get an excessive amount of vodka to consume in one’s own home for a price that would only get you three singles in a pub. The cruel irony is that the excessively cheap alcohol that is available in supermarkets is not sold at a profit. It is subsidised on the profit from your groceries. Surely it is time to reign in these cheap deals. Those could be done by imposing a minimum price on which alcohol can be sold and by raising a levy on alcohol sold in supermarkets and off-licences.

However, raising a levy on alcohol sold in supermarkets and off licences is not enough to save our pubs. If alcohol is still expensive in pubs then people are still going to head to the supermarket, pay a bit more and drink at home.

What I therefore propose is that the tax on alcohol in pubs and bars is reduced. This can be funded by the levy on alcohol sold in supermarkets and off licences. When the gap is closed people are going to be more likely to head the local pub and we will get these community hubs back.

I can predict people commenting below that cheaper booze in pubs will lead to greater anti-social behaviour and public disorder. However, surely it is better to have people drinking in pubs; controlled environments in which landlords and landladies can decided when their customers have ‘had enough’. For long enough we have seen our pubs fall victim to excessive taxing. It is time to reclaim our local boozers and reign in irresponsible supermarket pricing.