650 election candidates pledge reform of the beer tie
4 May 2010
By Emily Ryans
Over 650 election candidates - that's equivalent to one for each constituency in the UK - have now signed up to support CAMRA's five commitments in advance of Thursday's General Election.
One of the key commitments that these candidates have agreed to support is to reform the beer tie to deliver a fair deal for consumers. This is great news for beer drinkers, pub goers and community pubs at a time when over 5 pubs are closing every day across the UK, as a result of large pub companies exploiting their beer tie arrangement by forcing their tenants to buy their beer at around 50% above free market prices.
On the basis of current polling, around 180 of the candidates who have signed up are set to be elected on Thursday. During the course of the next parliament CAMRA will be calling on each of the elected candidates to back up their commitment to reform the beer tie with action, including on a legally binding code of conduct, a guest beer right and a free of tie option for tied tenants. As a result of the level of support for CAMRA's commitments, the large pub companies now face inescapable political pressure for reform.
Thanks again to all who have helped achieve this - the widespread level of support from each political party is a milestone in CAMRA's history and will for the basis of our campaigning for the next five years.
To see if your local candidates have signed up and for more election information please visit our
Election Portal.