Wine and spirits companies urged to tweet out their support for a Drop in Duty

By Richard Siddle

Published: 20 February, 2015

Today Harpers is repeating its call to all wine and spirits producers around the globe that are frustrated by the high alcohol duty levels in the UK to put their name and voice behind the industry's Drop the Duty campaign and raise the issue with the Chancellor, George Osborne.

Over the last couple of weeks Harpers has joined up with the Wine & Spirit Trade Association to organise a petition of wine producers, distillers and those involved in all areas of the supply chain to bring those goods to the UK to help convince the Chancellor to cut alcohol duty levels in his March Budget.

The move is in support of the UK wine and spirit industry's overall Drop the Duty campaign which is calling on everyone in the trade to send emails and letters to their local MP that set out the business and financial case for why a duty cut is actually not only good news for the drinks industry but also makes economic sense.

But there is also a role for wine producers and spirits companies working in the UK. You might not be able to vote and have an MP to lobby but you can take part in our petition to get your voice heard.

Simply TWEET our your support for a Drop in Duty

If you believe a duty cut would help your business in the UK and encourage you to trade more with businesses here then this is your chance to put your name to Harpers petition.

All you have to do is send a tweet to @HarpersWine stating "We call on the Chancellor to cut alcohol duty by 2% and make the UK a more competitive place to do business. @HarpersWine @DroptheDuty"

Or please retweet any tweets you see from Harpers sending out the same message.

We will then collect all the tweets and messages and send the list of participating companies to the Treasury and Chancellor George Osborne showing the international support and trading implications of a 2% cut in alcohol duty.

"The UK not only needs your wines and spirits it also needs your support in convincing the Chancellor that our country's high duty rates are as serious barrier to vital trade in to the UK from international businesses," said Harpers editor, Richard Siddle. "Please send us your tweet supporting our call for a drop in duty and we will take your message to the Chancellor."

* Anybody in the wine and spirits trade can lobby their MP and get them to back the campaign by simply going to the droptheduty.co.uk and emailing their MP. But why not also invite the MP to your business so that they can hear the story of an important company in their constituency. For ease there is a templated letter attached that you can personalise and send to the MP.

For more information go to our March for the Independents section of our website.

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