Great to thank our poll winner @edballsmp for promise to support pubs with energy bill and business rates freeze pic.twitter.com/VmkLPGhqfZ
— CAMRA (@CAMRA_Official) September 25, 2013
So let's get this straight, Labour overwhelmingly backed the smoking ban in 2007 which led to pubs being slaughtered at an alarming rate. Not a rate fast enough for Labour though, it seems, so they installed the beer duty escalator in 2008 leading to tax on beer increasing by 42%. They are also proudly declared opponents of alcohol and are itching to introduce minimum alcohol pricing which is most definitely planned for pubs too.
Mere flesh wounds, obviously. Because CAMRA are today thanking - yes, thanking - Labour's Ed Balls for his 'support' of pubs by promising a few pennies off energy bills and pledging to temporarily not whack up state costs on the industry.
Someone please pass me a bucket.
H/T @KeithWildman
7 comments:
It seems Dale Ingram, CAMRA's London Pubs Protection Adviser has resigned. partly as a result (as I understand it) of CAMRAs more political involvements
It also seems CAMRA are now supporting that well known real ale specialist outlet JDW and some are not pleased.
So it seems CAMRA have lost their way.
Hmm, and Dale Ingram was CAMRA's campaigner of the year. To quote her resignation statement:
"This is a shameful, shameful episode in CAMRA's history. Sucking up to a
dreadful politician who has signally refused to engage with CAMRA on
any pub sector campaigning in three years, ignoring his constituents and
CAMRA members locally on the closure of two pubs, including a
conversion to a Tesco. Sadiq Khan will be a truly terrible Mayor. He
thinks the way to solve everything is to bully and belittle people who
have the courage to stand up to him. Nightmare. And CAMRA going along
with it is simply catastrophic for London's pubs. If Sadiq becomes
Mayor, say goodbye to what's left of them in London. Use them now, while
you can."
Mind you, someone called Sadiq Khan isn't exactly going to have much, er, empathy with pubs, is he?
I think they lost that a while ago. Their political views have taken precedence over their original aim of protecting beer and pubs.
So they have form? Wow!
I've always thought they made bad choices, but it's starting to look like they've completely abandoned their core purpose.
None so blind as those who will not see...
I wionder what CAMRA will do when there are no pubs left? We don't want them at Smoky-Drinky, that's for sure.
Yes, it is the campaign for real ale. In the 1970s it served a purpose, but now there are hundreds of micro breweries and real ales.
pennies off energy bills
Yeah right. While completely forgetting that it was there arse holes that hugely inflated our energy bills with green subsidies. Does anyone know what you're paying a year for this nonsense? It's more than you think.
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