Starmer promised to back Scottish whisky. Now he has our country's crown jewel over a barrel
21 February 2025, 13:48
When Keir Starmer walked into Downing Street he did so as a man who had previously promised to ‘back Scotch producers to the hilt’.
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Welcome news for producers of our national drink who had been landed with a massive tax bill courtesy of the Conservatives the year before, and had been forced to contend with rising costs disrupting production.
It took just four months for him to break that promise.
Scotch Whisky is the crown jewel of our exports and deserves backing from politicians of all parties, not least because of the immense economic and cultural value of the industry, the jobs and investment it supports, or the soft power that comes with exports of the world-renowned nectar.
It’s an industry that in 2022 is estimated to have brought in £7.1 billion to the overall UK economy, helping to fill up Treasury coffers. Or that’s at least until the Tories, in 2023, hiked Whisky Duty by 10.1% in a move that actually cost the public £300 million in tax revenue.
If Starmer meant what he’d previously said he’d have used his party’s first budget in over a decade to reverse that, easing the burden on the whisky sector while boosting public finances. Instead, he ignored cross-party appeals and warnings from the industry and, together with Rachel Reeves, imposed a further RPI inflation increase to alcohol duty.
Far from backing them to the hilt, Westminster now has the whisky industry over a barrel with a punitive tax regime that’s harming both the industry and public finances. It beggars’ belief that the government would impose such an economically illiterate move on one of Scotland’s best success stories.
Now, in what can best be described as an act of sabotage, the Labour government has announced plans to deliver GI status to English whiskey producers, specially tearing up the definition of “single malt” to suit distillers who could be free to flood the market with inferior products, and cheapening the global reputation of real Scottish single malts in the process.
The term “single malt” exists for very good reason and describes the careful process of making a whisky in a single place. It’s a term synonymous around the world with the very finest Scotch Whiskys.
To change the definition to suit a handful of English distilleries, in the words of the Scotch Whisky Association: “Is entirely inconsistent with the reputation of single malt whisky, which is famous for its integral connection to place, and would undermine the Single Malt Scotch Whisky category.”
Not content with having hammered Scotch whisky with higher taxes, this fresh attack shows the complete disregard Westminster has for Scotland's industries and is a kick in the teeth to distilleries and workers right across our country.
We’re fortunate in Scotland to be home to the finest whisky brands in the world. We recognise the economic benefits and soft power that comes with that, the rest of the world recognises it, it’s time now for Westminster to recognise it too and put these ludicrous plans to bed.
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Elected in July 2024, Graham is the SNP MP for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey, a constituency home to one-third of Scotland's whisky distilleries, and world-renowned Speyside malts.
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