Beer campaign group celebrates clinching 185,000 members

The Campaign for Real Ale believes it has reinforced its place among some of the top membership organisations in the UK – and boasting numbers above all but one of the major political parties.

The milestone member was one of hundreds signed up at a national beer festival.

The organisation’s current membership puts it ahead of the Conservative Party, the SNP, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens and Ukip.

Only the Labour Party has more members than Camra, which has a Portsmouth and south east Hampshire branch.

After 45 years of being one of the largest single-issue consumer groups in the world, Camra is still seeing nearly 10,000 new members join each year.

Issues facing the beer and pubs industry still top the agenda for many, with Camra’s key campaigns including the protection of pubs from closure, keeping beer affordable and promoting the wellbeing benefits of visiting your local continuing to strike a chord.

Camra last year embarked on a member-wide consultation about its future direction and purpose to ensure that it remains relevant.

The proposals put forward by the committee charged with running the consultation suggested it could make numerous changes to better represent modern drinkers.

A final decision on the proposals will take place at a Members’ Weekend in 2018.

Camra chairman, Colin Valentine, said: ‘It is fantastic to see our membership continue to grow year on year at such a successful rate.’