Reviewing politics
and culture since 1913

  1. Politics
24 March 2010

The cider rebellion

Darling outrages cider drinkers with 10 per cent rise in duty.

By George Eaton

The cider drinkers are rebelling. Within minutes of Alistair Darling announcing in the Budget that cider duty will rise by 10 per cent from midnight on Sunday, a Facebook group was set up attacking the measure.

The group, Leave Our Cider Alone!, already has 80 members, despite Darling’s insistence that the change was designed to address a “long-standing anomaly”.

But others take a more pragmatic view. On Twitter, the radio presenter Richard Bacon tweeted: “Help bring down the deficit. Drink lots of cider.”

Given that the deficit is still forecast to be £167bn, we’d better get drinking.

Follow the New Statesman team on Twitter.

Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month
Content from our partners
The benefits of UK consulting go far beyond the economic
Energy storage must not be overlooked on the road to net zero 
Mental health: The productivity puzzle