With five pubs closing every day across the country, the three Green PPCs in Brighton and Hove (Caroline Lucas, Brighton Pavilion; Ben Duncan, Brighton Kemptown; and Ian Davey, Hove) have given their full support to CAMRA's Beer Drinkers and Pub Goers Charter.

The Charter aims to halt the decline of a great British institution that is often the heart and soul of rural and local areas. Each closure has a devastating effect on local economies, causing job losses and depriving communities of the £80,000 that each pub injects [1].

And this weekend will see the 20th Sussex Cider and Beer Festival at Hove Town Hall. For more details, see: www.sussexbeerfestival.co.uk

In line with long-established Green Party policies on local sustainability that aim to increase local investment and the circulation of local finance - thus encouraging social enterprise and cohesion, the three Green PPCs welcome CAMRA's efforts to:

- Promote the interests of Britain's pub goers
- Champion well-run community pubs
- Rebalance alcohol taxation to support beer and pubs
- Reform the beer tie to deliver a fair deal for consumers
- Support the role of well-run pubs as solutions to alcohol misuse

Caroline said: "Community pubs make a vitally important contribution to local sustainability and social cohesion. I fully support CAMRA's commitments to protect these institutions, and encourage all other Green PPCs to do the same."

Notes:

CAMRA is a not-for-profit, volunteer-led consumer group with a growing membership of over 110,000 individuals.

The full Charter can be found at: www.camra.org.uk/charter

Green Party policies to increase local investment and the circulation of local finance within the community include the development of democratically accountable Community Banks, designed to encourage local people to invest in local economic activity.

On Tuesday 16th March at 6.30pm, CAMRA and the All Party Parliamentary Save the Pub Group will host a public debate in Parliament on "Who Will Save the Pub?"