Nigel Evans calls for goverment action on “appalling” practice

An MP has launched a parliamentary motion slamming supermarkets for selling beer cheaper than water and urging the government to take action.

Tory MP Nigel Evans, a pub trade supporter, has tabled the early day motion (EDM) after it emerged that Asda has been selling four-packs of Skol for 90p, nearly half the price of a four-pack of Evian water.

The EDM questions whether this is “an example of loss-leading sales” and urges supermarkets to end the practice which it says is appalling.

It also highlights the negative effect it is having on pubs and brewers, including the number of pubs closing on a weekly basis, and calls on the government to “look at the pricing policy of beers in supermarkets as opposed to public houses”.

Fourteen MPs have so far signed the motion.

Nick Bish, chief executive of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, welcomed the news and urged MPs to sign the EDM. “The government really must consider the pricing of alcohol in supermarkets, and ban below-cost selling,” he said. “This can easily be incorporated into its proposed statutory code of practice on responsible selling, which must be applied to both the on and off trade.”

To view the full text of the EDM click go to The Publican website

Taken from: http://www.thepublican.com/story.asp?storycode=61407

By James Wilmore