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meeson · Site Admin Joined: 26 Feb 2007 Posts: 615

Tories: "We're unlikely to legislate on supermarket pricing"

Shadow minister warns pub industry not to expect a Tory government to tackle cut-price booze

A future Conservative government would be unlikely to force supermarkets to raise the price at which they sold alcohol, a senior shadow minister warned pub operators yesterday.

Speaking at the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers’ (ALMR) Business Day event in London, Tory MP and shadow Local Government & Communities minister Justine Greening said her party recognised the tension that existed between the pub sector and supermarkets on the issue.

But she stopped short of saying a Conservative government would legislate on pricing.

“All retailers, whether in the on or the off trade, need to price alcohol responsibly,” she said.

“We think you have to be careful over legislating on things like loss-leading, although we believe the off-trade issue has to be brought more into focus,” she added.

Greening said her party would prefer to look at how alcoholic drinks were marketed to younger consumers, and she restated the Conservative’s earlier proposal that tax on lower alcoholic drinks, such as cask ale, be reduced, and raised on stronger products, such as spirits.

She also refused to rule out further rises in the national minimum wage (NMW), should the Tories win the next general election.

"We want to bring the public finances back onto an even keel. We're conscious the NMW is a cost burden on small businesses. People have a right to be paid fairly, although it would be wrong to say more at this stage," she said.

Also speaking at the ALMR event, Labour MP John Grogan congratulated anti-beer tie group Fair Pint for highlighting the issue, but called on the organisation to engage with all sides of the argument.

“Fair Pint is a player now and has made a space for itself in the debate, but I’d like the group to discuss the issues in a civilised way,” Grogan said.

The MP added that Fair Point’s call for the complete removal of the tie “was not a proven argument”.

A consequence of total abolition of the tie would be that a number of family-run regional brewers would struggle, Grogan added, a claim the tie’s opponents have rejected.