The claim
“We do need to tax some of the problem drinks, and I would say if you look at some of the really high strength, super-strength ciders and lagers – things like White Lightning, which you can buy, you know three litres for sort of 3.99, I’m sounding a bit expert on this in a worrying way – but that stuff has never been near an apple, it’s not cider, it’s just something that people use to get off their heads. And I think we should tax that more aggressively.”
David Cameron, Fuller’s Brewery in Chiswick , 12 April 2010
The background
David Cameron was campaigning at Fuller’s Brewery in Chiswick, where he repeated his plans to tackle binge-drinking but also expressed his delight that the ten per cent increase on duty on all cider had been defeated.
Last October the Conservative Party published their plan to tackle binge drinking and alcohol-related violence and disorder on our streets. Amongst other taxes, the Tories said they would impose an extra 85p levy on a 2-litre bottle of super-strength cider.
Then last month – during his budget speech – the chancellor, Alistair Darling, announced a 10 per cent increase on duty on cider making the point that in September “changes will be made to the definition of ‘cider’ to ensure that specific strong ciders are taxed more appropriately.”
The Conservatives opposed the ten per cent across the board increase with David Cameron commenting, “of course we need a higher tax on the dangerous high strength, things like White Lightning, which have as much relation to an apple as I do with Gandhi. But proper cider that people like to drink down the pub, we shouldn’t be having a great tax hike on that.”
The Government has since had to drop its plans for the ten per cent, and the duty will now only last until 30 June, unless the new Parliament votes to continue with the higher rate.
But does Mr. Cameron still want to have his cider and drink it? He’s glad the 10 per cent tax has been dropped but wants super-strength ciders to be more heavily taxed.
The analysis
Not all ciders are created equal. Ciders vary in terms of their alcohol by volume (abv, measured as a percentage), and white ciders may be made from apple concentrate or corn syrup rather than from apples. There is debate about whether such ciders should really be called cider but they are not necessarily higher strength than so-called ‘real ciders’.
Simon Russell, spokesman for the National Association of Cider Makers, told FactCheck:
“If they [the Conservatives] are talking about cider which is 7.5 per cent or above, the vast majority is under 5.5 per cent. At 7.5 per cent and above you are already at breakpoint with significantly higher duty, and it is a tiny percentage of the total cider market.”
He claims that context is always lost in these discussions, and that strong white cider represents just 6 per cent of total cider and is in long term decline. “Cider makes up 9 per cent of the total alcohol consumed in the UK, so white cider accounts for half of one per cent of total alcohol consumption,” Mr Russell added.
David Cameron has cited White Lightning as an example of a cider that should be more heavily taxed, but in fact Heineken announced at the end of last year that they were delisting the drink from the 31 March 2010. Moreover, the abv content of White Lightning had been lowered from 7.5 per cent to 5.5 per cent in April 2009.
FactCheck asked the Conservatives to clarify their policy and to define what David Cameron defines as ‘super-strength’ cider but have yet to receive a reply.
The verdict
It is consistent to oppose a ten per cent increase across the board on the duty on all cider but to seek to increase the duty on higher strength cider.
But David Cameron clouds the issue by not knowing his White Lightning from his Diamond White, and by being unclear on what exactly he means by ‘super-strength’ cider.
If the Tories clarify their position we will add an update.
