M i les Beale
In conversation... Miles Beale is the chief executive of the drinks industry’s chief lobbying organisation, The Wine & Spirit Trade Association. Miles Beale and the WSTA have the ear of the Government… He talks to Vineyard So how did you get to be the WSTA’s CEO? "Being private secretary to two cabinet ministers accompanying one to Tehran, on a first visit by a senior minister since the 1979 Islamic revolution, and tackling strike action by an emergency service with another.”
How did you get to be in the wine and spirits sector? “The seed was planted during my third year of university in Bordeaux and flourished when I had to leave the civil service to satisfy a thirst for austerity.
Years in the sector? “Almost 10.”
What do you regard as your particular expertise? “Government; team building and stubbornness.”
What do you love about the wine and spirits sector? “The variety, the people, learning and merriment. It’s never dull and frequently satisfying. I feel the WSTA does a good job for its members and the industry in general – and that it’s in high demand right now."
No businesses or sector will get to Net Zero (carbon emissions) on their own, but businesses too often work alone or hope they don’t have to worry about it yet What frustrates you about the wine and spirits sector? “The reluctance to get involved in standing up for our sector – not so much publicly, which can be tricky, but with government and politicians. Too often businesses are reluctant to stand up for themselves with government. As a sector we are also bad about cultivating contact with politicians that we might need to stand up for us some day. Given how hospitable everyone is – by requirement – it seems odd that (future) allies are so often left out. How can they support or defend us if they don’t understand the nature of what we do? “I would also like to see more examples of the sector working together to tackle future challenges, especially when they are industrywide. For example, no businesses or sector will get to Net Zero (carbon emissions) on their own, but businesses too often work alone or hope they don’t have to worry about
> Miles Beale (left) and Huw Merriman MP for Bexhill and Battle at a WSTA drinks reception
it yet. Another example is consumer information – whether consumers, government or the antialcohol lobby are asking for more, the answer should no longer be about what’s on a label – but instead about what’s online. You need a QR code or similar on the label, but everything anyone could want can now be provided online.”
If there is one thing you would like to do to improve things, what would that be? “Can I have two? "1) To gain clarity from government on some basic post-Brexit rules for trading in our products. “And 2) To have the Chancellor think again about his proposals for changing the way he wants to tax alcohol. He is making some horrible unforced errors, especially for wine. By all means move to an equivalence model, but a) tax all alcohol at the same rate, no matter what product it is in; b) recognise that wine is different. Unlike producers of any other alcoholic drink, winemakers can’t control ABV so don’t introduce something that discriminates against hot climates and that will kills SMEs with red tape; and c) give small producer relief to producers of all drinks, not just beer and cider.”
The Chancellor needs to think again about his proposals for changing the way he wants to tax alcohol 22
