Blogger in agreement with Labour Minister shock!

Well there must be pigs flying past a blue moon as I find myself in agreement with Gordy Broon's Licensing Minister Gerry Sutcliffe! He has broken with his Ministerial colleague and said that publicans were "right to be upset" with the tax hikes imposed by Chancellor Alistair Darling in his recent budget.

The budget put 4p on a pint of beer, 3p on a pint of cider, 14p on a bottle of wine and a whopping 55p on a bottle of spirits.

Gavin Hewitt, Chief Executive of the Scotch Whisky Association, said:
"Scottish distillers are astonished by the Chancellor’s announcement. The government’s own figures show that any duty increase on whisky is likely to reduce revenue at a time when public finances are tight.

A tax rise is a blow to international competitiveness when the industry has been investing
significantly to meet growing global demand for Scotch Whisky. It sets a damaging precedent
that export markets may follow.

Today’s introduction of a two percent above inflation ‘alcohol tax accelerator’ in future Budgets abandons moves to a fairer alcohol duty system in the UK and reverses the Treasury’s long held position that it must retain flexibility when setting alcohol duty rates.

The Budget will add 59 pence (excise tax and VAT) to the price of a bottle of Scotch Whisky and will push the tax burden on the final price of a typical bottle towards 75%."

Today’s duty rise is the biggest on Scotch Whisky since 1991. Despite its importance to the
domestic economy, UK excise duty on Scotch Whisky is now the fourth highest in the European Union."

Dud Darling deliberately damages drams

Plastic Mac Darling obviously cares not a jot for the Scotch Whisky industry and the thousands of people employed therein. By pushing up the price of a bottle of whisky he will damage sales which leads to less profitability and subsequently to the possibility of workers being laid off.

He wilfully ignored the lobbying of many Scottish MPs and the Scotch Whisky Association who recently met with Exchequer Secretary Angela Eagle MP. Speaking before the meeting Gavin Hewitt, Chief Executive of the SWA, said:
“The Government has recognised the benefits of a fairer alcohol duty policy in recent years and we will be urging the Minister to maintain that welcome policy by freezing spirits duty in the March
Budget.

“The Budget is always a pivotal date in our calendar but this year’s Budget comes at a time when the industry is facing rising input and energy costs. Spirits duty stability boosts competitiveness and has helped distillers to invest heavily in their operations and supply chain across Scotland, benefiting the wider economy and ensuring Scotch Whisky is well placed as new opportunities develop in the highly competitive international market.

“Calls for higher duties to tackle alcohol misuse are misplaced. We are working with government to promote responsible attitudes to alcohol and agree with the Treasury’s long held view, repeated at the weekend, that duty rises are not the way to tackle a minority’s irresponsible drinking.”

It's interesting to note that excise duty accounts for around 72% of the cost of a bottle of blended whisky. A half pint of beer, a 125ml glass of wine and a 35ml measure of whisky all contain roughly the same amount of alcohol. The duty on the beer is 19.2p, the wine 22.2p and the whisky 27.4p and that was before the budget.

Darling is an embarrassment to Scotland.

Aviemore here I come!

It's the Scottish Lib Dem Spring Conference in Aviemore this weekend so I'm heading up to help with the set up tomorrow. You see our Conference Committee Convener, Helen, has been laid low with pneumonia. She is, thankfully, out of hospital and on the mend but her Medics and friends have warned her that she must take things easy at Conference - I threatened to tie her to a chair if she does too much. With the Committee's other Vice Convener unable to attend due to Council committments lucky old me gets to be the one running about like the proverbial fly with a blue backside.

There are good things about Conference too, like meeting friends from all over Scotland and socialising into the wee small hours, the chance to engage in heated debate, attending many interesting and varied fringe events (and not just for the free food and drink) and, of course, the Scotch Whisky Association Reception. Cheers!

However, there is someone who makes the Conference happen and who does the hard graft to make sure everything runs smoothly and that's our Conference & HQ manager Suzette.
We don't often thank our party staff for their hard work and tolererance so I would like very publicly to say: Suzette many, many thanks for all your hard work. We really do appreciate it!