Osborne's 'unavoidable Budget' could have been worse

So, as with the suggestion - premature at the time - that US author Mark Twain had shuffled off this mortal coil, recent reports that alcohol duty was going to rise by five per cent proved wide of the mark.

Setting aside speculation that reports of hefty increase were a well-placed leak designed to make both consumers and industry alike feel better when in fact he was set to deliver a duty freeze, the Budget was better than many in the industry had hoped.

However the hike in VAT will affect everyone, with those on the lowest incomes hit more than most. This has led some in the City to suggest that those pub operators who appeal to lower-income customers, for example JD Wetherspoon, will lose out more than others.

This may be true, but remember that in the run-up to the smoking ban people argued that 'spoons would suffer beyond measure. That turned out not to be the case.

Certainly things could have been much worse for a lot of people in the pub and brewing game. That said, I completely understand the frustration that certain anomalies remain in the duty regime, notably the relative positions of beer and cider.

What is very encouraging is the decision by the Chancellor to examine the tax regime as it pertains to alcohol and address the taxation of those products he believes are responsible for the carnage created by binge-drinking and under-age consumption. There will doubtless be many representations made to Osborne between now and the autumn.

As is forever being noted, the industry is a multifaceted one. Pubs are not usually the home of irresponsible drinking and we, along with everyone else connected with them, have stressed this time and time again.

Maybe George and his Treasury colleagues will listen this time around.