http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/forum.ma/view-thread/4880?PagingData=Po_10~Ps_10~Psd_Asc

Let's get down to brass tacks here Ewan:

Mr Hoyle has come out unambiguously, clearly in support of licensees. Why speculate as to why he’s done it? Fact is, he’s done it and this is a good thing, he’s put it out in the open. Hoyle is a long standing interested observer of the trade. He’s well versed in the ins and outs of what's going on so why, just because he is on BEC, speculate about why he's done this EDM?

“The EDM could be seen as Hoyle distancing himself from the report, which could be more lenient on the pubcos than he desires, or equally could be a ploy to pile pressure on fellow committee members to side with him.”

WOW!

Maybe what he’s getting at is that thousands of people who have set up businesses employing tens of thousands of more people who generate hundreds of £millions in beer sales, tax revenues and economic activity - while creating much of the mortar that butters up the social brickwork of our society - are in a position of utter impotence in their relationship with freeholders who have consistently completely, irresponsibly, abused the power they hold over their large flocks of golden geese.

Imagine coming across a flock of once plump geese, now neglected and living in a barren muddy field with no feeding regime, covered in mud and guano, completely dishevelled, feathers falling out, having no will to preen themselves anymore, many of them stumbling around in pain on crippled legs, clearly with death on the cards. That’s tied pubs for you.

Maybe Mr Hoyle just thinks it’s time to point out the obvious so that people stop talking speculative rubbish about why the industry’s falling apart.

Bottom line is it's well past high time an EDM came out and said it like it is instead of pussyfooting around the realities of pubs and the tie because of political expediency.

Journalistically this development MAY be a suggestion of a split in the Business Enterprise Committee but so what? And how could this pile on pressure on anyone to follow suit? This whole sorry industry is an international disgrace because of the way it’s been managed in the 20th century by brewers and subsequently by pubcos who brought it into 'modern times' which, with tied pubs, still have a terrifyingly startling resemblance to the events in the Charlie Chaplin film of the same name.