Record CAMRA membership in anniversary year

March 18, 2006: A record 80,000 people have officially joined up to the Campaign for Real Ale - the highest number of members since the consumer organisation began in 1971.

This week CAMRA celebrates its 35th anniversary and is overjoyed to announce that its aims and objectives have never been as widely supported as now.

CAMRA chief executive Mike Benner said: “CAMRA has gone from strength to strength and achieved some incredible successes in the last three and a half decades, thanks to the hard work and dedication of all those involved.

“CAMRA volunteers work tirelessly throughout the year to promote real ale, cider and the traditional pub, and ensure they have the healthy future they deserve.

“Welcoming our 80,000th member is a real milestone for CAMRA and we are absolutely delighted, but we still would like more people to join us to make sure consumers of real ale will always have a powerful voice to speak on their behalf.”

CAMRA was formed in 1971 after six large national brewers (Allied Breweries, Bass Charrington, Courage/John Smiths, Scottish and Newcastle, Watney and Whitbread) set about replacing cask ale with inferior pressurised keg beer in the UK.

During a holiday in Ireland, four friends -journalists Michael Hardman, Graham Lees and Bill Mellor, along with brewery employee Jim Makin - bemoaned the dreadful standard of beer back home and decided to set up the Campaign for the Revitalisation of Ale.

The first annual meeting was set up in Nuneaton in 1972 and 20 people turned up. By the time of the second AGM in 1973 there were more than 1,000 members on the books, and the name of the organisation was changed to the more pronounceable Campaign for Real Ale.

Highlights of the campaigning years

l No new ale breweries were set up in the UK in the 50 years before CAMRA was founded - there are now around 400 new brewers producing real ale, part of a massive real ale revival.

l CAMRA lobbied the government to introduce progressive beer duty, which has helped hundreds of small brewers to compete with larger brewing companies.

l CAMRA members have successfully defeated several brewery take-overs.

l In the last couple of years CAMRA was instrumental in ensuring the introduction of more liberal licensing laws in England, Scotland and Wales.

l CAMRA got brewers to declare the strengths of their beers, and are close to success in seeing listing of beer ingredients.

Today CAMRA is the largest consumer organisation in Europe, boasting 80,000 members in 200 branches across the UK. CAMRA was given supercomplainer status in 2005, enabling it to have grievances over measures such as market dominance investigated by watchdogs within 90 days.

CAMRA hosts beer festivals across the UK, including the Great British Beer Festival which will be held at Earl’s Court from August 1-6 this year.

It also organises National Pubs Week, the National Pub of the Year competition, CAMRA Pub Design awards and several other important events in the beer calendar. It publishes several highly successful books and guides, including the Good Beer Guide, edited by Roger Protz.

It continues to campaign against brewery takeovers and consolidation in order to preserve consumer choice.

In the future, in addition to campaigning against brewery consolidation, and encouraging sales of real ale, cider, and perry, CAMRA intends to continue campaigning for a full pint and to close legal loopholes that allow bars and pubs to serve less than 100 per cent liquid.

CAMRA wants to see national planning guidance in place to require local authorities to introduce policies to retain community public houses. At the moment a pub can be converted for a change of use without the need for planning permission. The law must be changed so any change of use resulting in the loss of a pub requires planning permission.

CAMRA says excise duty must be reduced to encourage people to visit the pub and stem the flood of cheap alcohol crossing the English Channel.

And it will continue to lobby the government to retain progressive beer duty.