Not grumpy | Director of Strategy & Communications @ScotchWhiskySWA 🥃 | #SupportScotch | Views my own
Edinburgh 🏴
Joined July 2009
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Graeme Littlejohn retweeted
Fiscal discipline. Backing British business. Growth in every postcode.
These are just some of Chancellor's priorities ahead of the #UKBudget on 28 October.
And, as our Director of Strategy and Communications @littlegrumpyG explains, reducing #SpiritsSuperTax could be the solution to all of @hmtreasury's aims 👇🎥
Graeme Littlejohn retweeted
🇮🇳 🥃 SWA International Director @IanDuddyUK and Head of Trade (APAC) Stuart Smith have been in India as part of the #UKGovernment trade delegation, building on the landmark UK-India Free Trade Agreement.
The Scotch Whisky industry is proud to work in partnership with Government to showcase Scotch and boost our sector’s global export growth. We joined meetings with representatives from Defra including Secretary of State @angelaeagle MP, and @UKGovScotland Secretary of State @D_G_Alexander MP, as well as our counterparts in the Indian market @IswaiIndia.
Hi @TheNewsAgents team! Good to hear so much interest in the views of the @ScotchWhiskySWA on today’s pod 🥃
Ahead of the Budget in two weeks, let’s have a chat because if tax rises again on Scotland’s national drink there certainly will be, in the words of Emily, a sagginess of spirit
@jonsopel @maitlis
Graeme Littlejohn retweeted
📹 Today our Director of Strategy and Communications @littlegrumpyG, along with representatives of the @SpiritsAlliance and @wstauk, met with Financial Secretary to @hmtreasury James Murray.
Listen as he explains why the #SpiritsSuperTax should be cut on 28 October 👇
Graeme Littlejohn retweeted
Despite significant struggles, spirits are helping keep UK pubs afloat. Read more from bar owner Neema Rai on why a cut to spirits duty at the Budget will make a vital difference to venues like Tamesis Dock and the Battersea Barge.
thesun.co.uk/money/40652851/…
Graeme Littlejohn retweeted
🗨️ “When it comes to spirits duty, ‘the Gordon Brown approach’ is one [the #ScotchWhisky] sector holds up as a clear model of sensible policy in action... delivering increased revenue while supporting a home-grown industry with a supply chain that reaches every postcode.”
Ahead of the #UKBudget on 28 October, catch up on yesterday's piece in @thetimes about why a cut to the #SpiritsSuperTax makes sense - for business and the public purse.
thetimes.com/uk/scotland/art…
Graeme Littlejohn retweeted
70% of UK spirits are distilled in Scotland🏴
This makes a cut to the #SpiritsSuperTax on 28 October vitally important in generating growth right across the country 📈📈📈
Graeme Littlejohn retweeted
Scotch whisky chief warns industry recovery remains fragile and calls on Chancellor to cut duty 👇
As @DSanderson_85 points out, @ScottishLabour MPs are lobbying @hmtreasury to adopt “the Gordon Brown approach” to the #ScotchWhisky industry in the budget - reduce the tax burden, raise revenue.
A win-win. Let’s hope they are successful.
thetimes.com/uk/scotland/art…
“the problem is simple: the government’s endorsement of this method of production – unwitting or not – is undermining the whole concept of ‘single-malt’”
This morning’s editorial in @TheScotsman gets to the heart of the opposition to the controversial definition of Single Malt within the English Whisky GI. There are concerns from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and even the English industry is divided.
It is not too late to change course.
Why Labour needs to wake up to this threat to the £5.36 billion Scotch whisky industry trib.al/ZGWDnrr
Graeme Littlejohn retweeted
🗨️ "Why should someone choosing to have a dram pay significantly more tax than someone drinking a pint? We want @hmtreasury to address that issue."
Our Chief Exec @MarkAGKent spoke to @ScottWWright at @heraldscotland about why a supportive domestic policy environment matters for the #ScotchWhisky industry to continue investing, exporting and creating jobs.
heraldscotland.com/news/2662…
Graeme Littlejohn retweeted
Why Labour needs to wake up to this threat to the £5.36 billion Scotch whisky industry trib.al/ZGWDnrr
Graeme Littlejohn retweeted
After getting to grips with how UK alcohol duty works in Part 1, business and economics journalist @DouglsFraser is taking his investigation to the heart of government: Whitehall 🇬🇧
With three consecutive increases to spirits excise duty in the past three years, he's exploring what happens to the public purse when tax rates keep rising 🧐
With a little help from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), he's unpacking the numbers behind the #SpiritsSuperTax and why the current system isn't delivering as expected.
📆 On 28 October, we're calling for a cut to spirits duty in the #UKBudget to support a more sustainable tax base for HM Treasury while providing the industry greater room to grow and invest.
Let’s talk about ‘draught relief’
Another example of how the reformed UK alcohol duty system is weighted against spirits like #ScotchWhisky
The HM Treasury Budget on 28 October is a chance to rebalance the system and cut the #SpiritsSuperTax
Graeme Littlejohn retweeted
Following an appeal lodged by the Scotch Whisky Association on 8th October in response to the recent approval of a Geographical Indication for English Whisky, the Irish Whiskey Association, Scotch Whisky Association and Welsh Whisky Association have released the following joint statement 👇
ALT Joint statement dated 08/10/2026 from the Irish Whiskey Association, Scotch Whisky Association, and Welsh Whisky Association. The text expresses hope for a resolution to protect the integrity of the Single Malt category and allow the English GI to proceed. It mentions concerns about inconsistencies related to the English Whisky GI and emphasizes the value of traditionally made whisk(e)y.
Graeme Littlejohn retweeted
See the #SpiritsSuperTax for yourself 🥃📊
Try out our new interactive Alcohol Duty Calculator: scotch-whisky.org.uk/policy-…:
🥃 Select your drink
📊 Adjust the alcohol strength (ABV)
⚖️ Compare the duty paid at retail and where Draught Relief applies
📲 Download and share your results
Graeme Littlejohn retweeted
“If you choose to have a dram, you’re paying far more in duty than if you choose to have a pint.” 💭
With the #UKBudget just weeks away, our Chief Executive @MarkAGKent explained why the current alcohol duty system isn't working for spirits on the @C2GWhisky podcast.
🎧 Listen here: apple.co/4xUzZFa
On @C2GWhisky this week, @ScotchWhiskySWA CEO @MarkAGKent talks to @JohnRossBeattie about the #SpiritsSuperTax, the impact on #ScotchWhisky, and why @JohnHealey_MP should #SupportScotch
Available wherever you get your podcasts, and on YouTube 👉 youtube.com/@c2gwhisky
Graeme Littlejohn retweeted
1️⃣ One month to go until the #UKBudget, and the Chancellor wants to build a “more resilient country”.
The spirits sector wants to play its part in this but needs the right conditions at home to do so.
Our ask of @hmtreasury is clear: cut excise duty on spirits and commit to no further widening of the duty gap between spirits and other alcoholic drinks.
#SpiritsSuperTax
