PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
BEER DUTY (20 June 1994)

That this House calls the attention of Her Majesty's Government to the fact that British beer drinkers pay seven times more duty on their pint than their French counterparts; notes that as a result increasing amounts of duty paid beer imports from France are creating a serious and growing threat to the jobs of 500,000 British workers employed directly or indirectly in the brewing industry and to 100,000 small businesses; notes, moreover, that for the first time in the history of the brewing industry, there is widespread black marketeering in exported British beers being purchased on the Continent and smuggled back into this country for sale; and accordingly urges Her Majesty's Government to take immediate steps to reduce beer duty to the European average to protect British jobs, promote further inward investment into Britain by European beer manufacturers, maintain the Government's commitment to law and order and achieve harmony and fair competition in the European Market.

Sponsored by:
Nirj Deva (Conservative)