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'Drop the Duty!': whatever the result, thank you for getting involved!

Miles BealeMiles Beale

With just a few days left before Budget day, it is worth reflecting on what we have achieved - regardless of the end result. Without a doubt, we have made our voice heard with approaching 90% of MPs in total and almost 95% of Conservative MPs receiving emails - many of them more than six, and some more than 50! To an even greater extent than last year, we have presented a united industry front, while at the same time showcasing the rich diversity of our wonderful industry. Craft distillers and English wine have, rightly, figured more prominently in communications with MPs and in press coverage, in both the trade and national titles.

Most importantly, we have made effective use of an independent economic evidence base produced by EY to the extent that no one, either at the Treasury or in Parliament, has dismissed the figures or seriously challenged our arguments - on the potential enhanced contribution to the public finances, to GDP, to job creation or to pubs and the wider hospitality sector. This is both a tribute to the credibility of a compelling case and a reflection of the higher standing of the industry in the eyes of government and Parliament. In short, our contribution is better understood and increasingly appreciated by those in the corridors of power. This is perhaps the biggest gain from two broad based, economically evidence-based and relentlessly positive tax campaigns in two years.

None of this tangible change in perception and reputation would have occurred without WSTA members and Harper's readers being prepared to get stuck in and to throw your own and your company's weight behind our 'Drop the Duty!' campaign. Every email to every MP made an impact, but perhaps the most important effect has been to make our elected representatives realise that our industry is both global and local, is about both big business and normal people - their constituents, their voters. As one MP's researcher told us, '"We see 'Drop the Duty!' as a constituency-driven campaign. That is why my MP is interested!"

This represents real progress and - alongside our achievements towards goals agreed with the Government, notably under the Responsibility Deal and through the growth and success of Community Alcohol Partnerships - it fills me with hope and confidence that the industry is in a far better place at the end of this Parliament than it was at its halfway stage. So thank you for all that you have done and the support you have given: holding off - for now! - the threat of minimum unit pricing, securing the abolition of the Alcohol Duty Escalator, establishing the WSTA as the key interlocutor with the Government on alcohol issues and changing government's perception of our industry - from problem provider to responsible economic force. We are in a good place to respond to whatever the next Parliament and next Government brings - from emergency Budgets to 'son of Responsibility Deal'.

And what of next week's Budget result? I don't have a crystal ball, but I am confident our voice has been heard loudly and understood well. We must hope that the Chancellor has listened and that his Budget enables our rightly proud industry 'to play its part in the UK's recovery' - the words he used when I presented him with the WSTA's award of thanks on the steps of Number 11 earlier this year. Whatever Budget day brings, please accept a heartfelt thank you from all at the WSTA for your valiant efforts. Here's to enjoying a small drop and a big cheer...!

Miles Beale is chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association.

Miles Beale, the chief executive of the WSTA, presented The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osbourne an award in recognition of the abolishment of the duty escalator early this year

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