My office has been inundated with campaign cards and emails from people who say that pubs are having a hard time – and so they are. There are many reasons why drinking habits change over time, but two stand out: the tightening of belts in the recession and the ability of supermarkets to undercut the price of beer in pubs.

Pubs can and do change with the times. Many are more family-friendly than they were, providing meals or support for community organisations. New licensing laws make pubs more aware of the needs of their immediate neighbours. And many have stopped those practices which promote binge drinking, like ‘happy hours’.

By and large, pubs are where responsible and regulated drinking takes place; a typical pub puts £80,000 each year into the local community. But somewhere in Britain a pub closes every day. We have lost ten in High Peak in the last three years although 176 still remain. Precious small and micro-breweries producing local real ale are under threat.

In his Budget, I would like the chancellor to:

• review the automatic annual rise in alcohol taxation
• reduce the tax on draught and keg products compared to bottles and cans
• bring in a minimum selling price of 50p per unit of alcohol.

This latter, supported by the Chief Medical Officer, will stop supermarkets and off licences using beer as a ‘loss leader’ and unfairly undercutting pub prices.

Not every pub is perfect. Despite falling crime levels, alcohol is a major contributor to violence on our streets. When abused it is a major source of ill health. But those who drink from cans on the streets, or over-drink at home, face and pose greater risks to themselves and others than those who socialize in a supervised and regulated pub environment.

The British pub deserves to survive.

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