The government has suspended plans announced in the recent Finance Bill to increase the duty on cider.

The move was rescinded due to there being insufficient time to get the law passed before Parliament dissolves on 12 April ahead of the general election. Labour has said, however, that the 10 per cent rise will be reintroduced if they regain power after the election, arguing that cider had been treated more favourably than other types of alcohol in the past.

The proposal met with fierce opposition within the industry - with the Conservatives pledging not to impose such a tax - and the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) sent an open letter to Alistair Darling, George Osborne and Vince Cable saying that there was a 'compelling' case to do the same with beer tax. The BBPA's chief executive, Brigid Simmonds, wrote: "Since the Budget of 2008, tax on beer has increased by 26 per cent at a cost of £761m to the industry. During the same period over 4,000 community pubs have closed at the cost of more than 40,000 jobs.

"Just as you consider cider's 2.4p a pint tax increase to be punitive at a time when British firms are struggling to emerge from recession, so is beer's 2.4p a pint tax increase. We therefore ask you to extend the same support to beer and pubs you are proposing extending to cider makers and abandon the planned tax increase on Britain's national drink - beer."