The British Beer & Pub Association and the Long Live the Local campaign have selected Chesterfield MP, Toby Perkins, as one of this year’s Parliamentary Champions for the work he has done to support the pub industry.

Toby said, “I am very proud to have been named a Parliamentary Champion for the Long Live the Local campaign. It has been a terrible few years for pubs due to the pandemic and other challenges, I have consistently raised the plight of publicans, pubs and venues about the inequity in the beer duty and the overall financial support that should have been available to pubs when they were closed during public health..

Most of us instinctively knows the value of pubs as community assets. Each pub employs on average ten people and when a pub closes its community loses a focal point for engagement and the local economy loses £80,000 a year of value.

I am passionate about keeping our local pubs open, and I will continue be a champion for the sector and put pressure the Government to give our pubs a better deal.”