CLACTON MP Giles Watling has called for beer duty to be cut in the upcoming budget.

The tax is paid when producing and selling beer and is calculated on the strength of the alcohol.

The Government collects about £3.5 billion every year in beer duty.

But Mr Watling said beer duty in Britain is now three times the EUropean Union average, with £1 in every £3 spent in pubs going direct to the Treasury.

The MP has backed the Long Live the Local campaign.

He said: “While the pubs in Clacton have seen a great deal of personal support from me over decades, I was concerned to learn every day three pubs close down for good.

“Not only does this impact on those hard-working people who were employed there, it damages the wider supply chain.

“I was pleased the Government previously froze beer duty increases and it should be noted ministers have a positive track record when it comes to supporting our pubs.

“But now we need a cut in beer duty to ensure these community assets can survive.”

Mr Watling and other MPs have written a joint letter to Chancellor Philip Hammond to ask him to remove the RPI inflationary increases in beer duty, and to cut beer duty in the forthcoming Budget.

“Pubs are the beating hearts of many communities up and down the country.

“They are places where people chat, exchange ideas and, who knows, even discuss politics.

“They are a vital solution to the increasing isolation created, ironically, by social media. Go to pubs and meet face to face in a great British institution”

Mr Watling added that British consumers are paying 40 per cent of all the Beer duty in the EU, despite only drinking 12 per cent of the beer.

The growing tax burden is now considered to be the biggest pressure on pubs, according to the Long Live the Local campaign.

A spokesman said: “Along with Business rates and VAT, beer duty is putting pubs under enormous pressure.

“Every day pubs are closing their doors for good. And it’s about to get worse. The industry needs a cut in beer duty, but the government is planning an increase.

“Beer duty is now linked to Retail Price Index (RPI) and that means it’s likely that beer duty will increase by at least three per cent at the next budget and every year for the foreseeable future.

“The last time beer duty increased year on year was between 2008 and 2013 when the government put a beer duty escalator in place.

“The impact on the beer and pub sector was catastrophic, within five years there was a 24 per cent decline in beer sales, 5,000 pubs closed, and 58,000 people lost their jobs.”