MP calls on government to back Great British Breweries

Mike Wood MP has called for greater support for Britain’s pubs, breweries and wider hospitality industry following the announcement that Carlsberg will close Marston’s Brewery in Burton upon Trent.

The closure is the latest in a series of brewery closures affecting some of the UK’s best-known and most historic brewing regions. It follows the closure of Banks’s Brewery in Wolverhampton in 2025 and the planned closure of Sharp’s Brewery in Cornwall later this year.

Marston’s Brewery has a particularly important place in the brewing heritage of the Midlands, with Marston’s having been based at its current site in Burton since 1898. 

Mike Wood MP said: “The news that Carlsberg are closing Marston’s brewery in Burton is devastating for the Midland brewing industry and for real ale drinkers across the region. 

“It comes just over a year after they closed the historic Banks’s brewery in Wolverhampton and only a few days after Molson Coors announced the closure of Sharp’s in Cornwall. 

“These are much-loved brands that have been enjoyed by people in our pubs for years, as well as important parts of the local heritage in each of their areas, and will be greatly missed. 

“Carlsberg certainly have questions to answer, but this is another result of the Government’s insistence on piling further taxes, costs and regulation on pubs and brewing.”

Mr Wood said the latest announcement should be a further warning that the Government needs to recognise the contribution pubs and hospitality businesses make to local communities and the economy.

Mike Wood MP is the Member of Parliament for Kingswinford & South Staffordshire, his Private Member’s Bill, The Hertitage Public Houses Bill, is scheduled for it’s Second Reading on Friday 16th October 2026.