U.K.’s New Alcohol Taxes Are Aimed at Keeping Pubs Open and Votes Flowing

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…