The e-petition to force a debate in the House of Commons on the Beer Duty Escalator tax needs 100,000 signatures. A lot you may think, but consider the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) membership alone exceeds this. If every publican in the land signed, that would amount to over 50,000 signatures. If each CAMRA member and publican got a friend to sign the petition that would treble the amount of signatures required which would send a loud message to the government that we beer drinkers are not happy with this extra tax.

Either the great British drinker is unaware of the e-petition or doesn't mind paying above inflation increases in tax that damage our pubs, risk jobs, encourage home-drinking and hit the low paid hardest. At the time of writing over 60,000 have signed. The closing date is February 2013, so if half a million signed up by then it would send a clear message to parliament.

If you haven't signed please do so, if you have, then encourage your friends down the pub and colleagues at work to do the same.

Sign the Stop the beer duty escalator ePetition