When Britain’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, a teetotaler, dropped in on a west London beer festival on Tuesday, he was looking for votes rather than pints while promoting a government policy that he said would ease the financial squeeze on some of Britain’s drinkers.
Yet not everyone is convinced by the new set of alcohol tax rates, which are expected to cut the cost of beer for pub-goers but which have angered many other Britons by raising the fees on most other alcoholic beverages.
As Mr. Sunak served a pint of beer at the festival, one bystander heckled him, crying out: “Prime minister!
Oh, the irony that you’re raising alcohol duty on the day that you’re pulling a pint.” Another thought Mr. Sunak needed reminding that the drink he was pouring was “not Coca-Cola,” Sky News reported.
With high inflation rates eroding living standards in Britain, an election expected next year and Mr. Sunak’s Conservative Party trailing badly in the polls, his government was trying hard to put its best spin on what the new rules would mean for the average voter.
Persons:
Rishi Sunak, Sunak
Organizations:
Sky News, Sunak’s Conservative Party
Locations:
London, Britain