Britain's sugar tax cut sugar in soft drinks by 47 per cent. The same companies managed 3.5 per cent in foods without one

The Soft Drinks Industry Levy is one of the cleanest policy successes of the past decade. Ministers have decided it should stay locked to drinks. Between 2015 and 2024, the sugar in pre-packaged soft drinks falling within the scope of the UK's Soft Drinks Industry Levy fell by 47 per cent. Over a roughly comparable window, the sugar in foods covered by Public Health England's voluntary reduction programme fell by 3.5 per cent. The companies are largely the same. The supply chains are the same. The R&D departments are the same. One programme had a tiered tax sitting behind it. The other had a request. That is the entire argument for what the Recipe for Change coalition is asking the government to do, and it is also why the government has decided not to do it. What 47 per cent buys youThe Soft Drinks Industry Levy was announced by George Osborne in March 2016 and implemented in April 2018. Its design was unusual. Rather than a sales tax paid by consumers, it was a tiered tax paid by…