No Pints for Chancellor of the Exchequer
British Drinkers Show Distaste for Beer Tax
In Jaroslav Hasek's The Good Soldier Svejk, the protagonist is said to proclaim that any government that raises the price of beer is destined to fall within one year. British Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling perhaps should have picked up a copy of the iconic Czech novel, as he now finds himself in midst of possibly the largest alcoholic insurrection since the Whiskey Rebellion.
Some might say the 8-cent increase per pint and additional 28 cents on each bottle of wine that Darling slapped onto this year's budget is paltry. But pub owners contend the hikes are a business-killer, particularly coming on the coattails of a recent smoking ban. "It's a great big nail whacked ruthlessly into the coffin of the British pub," said Mike Benner, chief executive of the Campaign for Real Ale.
So, pint jockeys from Gloucester to Glasgow have formed a grassroots campaign to ban him from every pub in the UK. According to reports, it all began at the Utopia bar in Edinburgh, which put a poster in its window depicting Darling with a noose above his head and "Not Welcome In This Pub" below. "The noose signifies that it is the government who should be hanged and not the licensed trade," owner James Hughes told The Scotsman.
From thence, thousands of British drinkers took up their yard glasses to back the effort. The cause has inspired revolutionary songs and poetry, such as this catchy ditty:
I've been your new Chancellor for not quite a year
But I've taxed all your money from whiskey and beer,
And now in the coffers there's no gold in store
And I never will pay off the lenders no more.
There are even several Facebook groups urging Darling's expulsion from all public houses in Her Majesty's realm.
Now, with the same revolutionary spirits that drove Samuel Adams, David Bradford and Bluto Blutarsky, these patriots of the pint are fighting to the last dram for their right to cheap drink.
By Emil Steiner | March 27, 2008; 11:00 AM ET | Category: OFF/beat Politics
Posted by: jj | March 27, 2008 3:37 PM
Good God it is an act of treason! TAR AND FEATHER him and right quick!
Posted by: Mitchell | March 30, 2008 12:56 PM
What an idiotic thing for a politician to do. Raising the tax on beer is the surest way to lose an election.
Posted by: Cuthbert | March 31, 2008 1:39 AM
What an idiotic thing for a politician to do. Raising the tax on beer is the surest way to lose an election.
Posted by: Cuthbert | March 31, 2008 1:39 AM
What an idiotic thing for a politician to do. Raising the tax on beer is the surest way to lose an election.
Posted by: Cuthbert | March 31, 2008 1:39 AM
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We could all use a drink after the last 8 years.