Crawley MP, Henry Smith, has received a special award, for his work in helping to secure last year’s historic cut in beer duty in the Budget.  

Henry commented as he received the award: 

“Crawley’s neighbourhood and High Street pubs are an important part of our community, not just as a place for regulars to socialise but for the jobs they provide. Raising a pint in a Crawley pub helps our town – at least that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it! 

“Whilst I placed personal emphasise on the campaign to scrap the beer duty escalator, I’m delighted nonetheless to receive this recognition for my contribution to the debate. 

“I will continue to go further and, indeed, am calling in parliament for the abolition of beer duty altogether as I believe this would actually provide a cost saving for the taxpayer.” 

The special award is a joint initiative from the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) all of whom wanted to recognize the role of Henry, who supported Great Britain’s national drink during 2013, especially for his support in scrapping the Beer Duty Escalator, which lead to the momentous cut in Beer Duty.  

Brewing and pubs are vital to the local economy in every part of the country. All three bodies have joined forces again this year, and are campaigning for a freeze in duty in this year’s Budget on 19th March. 

Mike Benner, Chief Executive of CAMRA, comments:  

“This reward recognises Henry for his invaluable support in the campaign to scrap the beer duty escalator. Henry really helped in drawing attention to the harm caused by tax increases totaling 42 per cent over four years.”