On a rainy day at Balliol College, one of Oxford University’s oldest and most prestigious colleges, students gathered in its subterranean bar to support our Cut Cider Tax campaign.
They collected dozens of signatures for our petition calling on a cut in the Cider Duty Escalator, which automatically adds duty of 2% above inflation to a pint of cider. The ghost of former postgraduate student Adam Smith must have nodded approvingly.
‘With pubs closing across the country,’ says Oxford student Jack Matthews, ‘the Government needs to do all it can to help this important industry. Cutting the cider tax would be a great show of support to our hardworking publicans.’
After the signature collecting, students celebrated a successful action day with a few pints of Thatchers cider at favourite student pub the King’s Arms in the heart of Oxford. For those wanting to taste a locally brewed cider, they should try Thorn Brook cider produced by the Little Orchard Company on the Oxfordshire/Warwickshire border, north of Banbury. Very nice!