THE Golden Lion in Middlewich has joined the campaign led by JD Wetherspoon to cut tax on beer in pubs and save thousands of pub jobs.


The campaign will see the Golden Lion drop their drinks prices on Friday, September 26, from 12noon to 8pm, to represent the prices their customers would pay without the 20 per cent tax.


Jacqui Holmes, who works in The Golden Lion, said: “We are trying to get the message out there that it is unfair.


“Supermarkets can subsidise their sales of alcohol and we just can’t compete.


“We want to encourage more people to come into pubs again because it has got so expensive now for people to go out to a pub.


“We just want a fair, level playing field and when you see pubs closing all of the time it shows it’s not fair.”


VAT has steadily increased in the last 30 years from eight per cent to now 20 per cent and JD Wetherspoon, which is the national chain running the campaign, claims its beer sales have dropped 50 per cent in that time.


JD chief executive John Hutson said: "Reducing VAT will lead to more people coming into pubs, thanks to cheaper prices, meaning more jobs in the sector."