Labouring the pint

It's encouraging to see one political party taking pubs and communities seriously. Labour's leaked manifesto includes plans to:

• Set up a national pub review to investigate why they're closing.
• Set up a task force to consider the sustainability of pubs in the long term.
• Give greater protection to pubs.
• Give communities a greater say in the future shape of town centres, which would obviously affect town centre pubs.
• Switch business rates from RPI to CPI and providing a better appeals system.
• Review the entire business rates system in the long term.

A review of business rates is long overdue, seeing that pubs pay 2.8% of the business rates levied, even though they account for a mere 0.5% of turnover.

According to the Morning Advertiser, the pub trade newspaper, these proposals are broadly welcomed by the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, the British Institute of Innkeeping and the British Beer & Pub Association.

It seems to me that some thought has gone into these suggestions. Most politicians that I've seen asked about pubs just waffle on about "foaming pints" in the "great British pub", or in John Major's case, "warm pints": we must make sure he never serves at a CAMRA beer festival.

Well, they've got to get themselves elected first, but if they manage that, let's hope these considered proposals don't lose their momentum.