KEIGHLEY MP John Grogan is backing a campaign supporting ‘the local’.

He said pubs played a crucial role in communities.

Mr Grogan visited the Commercial Hotel in Keighley to show his support.

The Long Live the Local campaign is celebrating the role of pubs and highlighting the pressure they are under from a range of taxes including beer duty, business rates and VAT.

Mr Grogan is pictured with the Commercial’s new operator, Mary Moore.

“Mary is Keighley through and through,” he said.

“She inherits a rich tradition at the pub, which has long been a landmark in the town.

“I am very pleased to back the Long Live the Local campaign.

“UK beer duty is already three times above the EU average and I would hope this is an issue that will be addressed in the next parliament.”

The Commercial recently become a Craft Union pub, part of the managed operations arm of Ei Group.

It has undergone a £288,000 refurbishment.