Pubs have been struggling to cope in the downturn amid lower consumer spending and increased competition from the supermarkets for stay at home drinkers.
According to the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), around 39 pubs are closing every week while at the same time the government is believed to be planning to increase taxes on beer.
As a result the BBPA is running the Axe the Beer Tax campaign, targeting a suspected rise in the chancellor Alistair Darling’s upcoming Budget on April 22.
In response to the campaign, more than 200 MPs have signed a parliamentary motion to scrap plans to increase the tax.
Last week, the Wychwood brewery projected the "Hobgoblin" character from its beer onto the Houses of Parliament in a protest against taxes on pubs.
The character was posed in the style of Lord Kitchener in the famous WW1 recruitment poster, below which was the line: "British beer needs you!"
Mark Hastings, BBPA director of communications, said: "Beer is our national drink. But last year alone the chancellor put up tax on a pint by an eye-watering 18%. Now he wants to put it up again in the budget on April 22."
FMCG
Beer industry rounds on government over tax plans
LONDON - The pub and brewing industry has launched a number of initiatives this month, including projections onto the Houses of Parliament, in an attempt to halt government plans to increase duty on beer.