New alcohol measures will harm pub trade

A long-time Castlederg publican has argued that when it comes to the interests of ‘bog standard local pubs’, the British Government’s Chancellor of the Exchequer ‘does not know what he is talking about’.

Derek Hussey’s frank remark came as a response to Jeremy Hunt’s claim that a recent alcohol duty increase would work in the favour of small pubs.

Introducing the biggest increase to alcohol duty in almost 50 years, Mr Hunt said the new measures would be good for ‘the Great British pub’.

However, speaking this week, Mr Hussey, who is both a seated Derry and Strabane District Councillor, as well as the owner of Castlederg’s Castle Inn pub, disagreed with the leading Tory minister.

“Clearly at the moment and for a while, the hospitality industry has been under growing pressure, not least from product prices,” explained the former Ulster Unionist MLA.

Cllr Hussey claimed that the changes, which will see alcohol duty calculated not by category but by alcohol content, will cost businesses money and jobs, while simultaneously failing to reduce health risks associated with excess alcohol consumption.

“These new measures will damage the drinks end of the hospitality industry, without reducing the amount of alcohol consumed by the public,” said Cllr Hussey.

“Beer drinkers will continue to drink the beer that they are used to, wine drinkers will drink the wine they are used to, and spirit drinkers will keeping drinking the spirit they are used to.”

The government have said that, while there will be no duty increase for a 4 per-cent alcoholic beverage such as some pints of draught beer, the tax would be on spirits and wine.

“People will keep drinking what they always have, so the whole thing is doomed to fail,” said the councillor.

However, while Mr Hussey believes that the increases in price will not make a dent on dangerous drinking, he does believe that it will damage pubs, clubs and restaurants.

“It will be up to individual pubs to react as they see fit,” he said.

“Some will try to absorb the costs, but many others, like myself, have already been absorbing additional costs over the last number of years.

“Therefore,” he predicted, “some establishments will raise their prices.”

Increased costs, claimed the Derg area councillor, will mean decreased footfall.

“Higher prices will mean less punters, and less punters means stress on businesses and staff. People will lose their jobs,” said Mr Hussey.

Finally, repudiating Jeremy Hunt’s claim that these new measures will benefit pubs, Mr Hussey said, “Not speaking in terms of the wider market of the overall industry, but from the perspective of the bog standard pub owner, if that is what Mr Hunt thinks, I have no choice but to say that does not know what he is talking about.”