'Entry Denied!': The Government's Clash with Pubs Forecasts a Fresh Year Challenge.
Labour MPs visiting their home districts this weekend might breathe a sigh of relief as a hectic parliamentary session ends. Yet, for those hoping to frequent their community tavern for a relaxing drink, holiday spirit could be lacking. In fact, some may find they are not allowed through the door.
In recent weeks, establishments across the country have been putting up signs that state "No Labour MPs" in protest to adjustments in commercial property taxes revealed by the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, in her most recent financial statement.
This protest results in one fewer haven for many elected officials seeking solace from the harsh truth of their party's unpopularity. Representatives now describe regular hostility in everyday places after a rocky first year and a half that has seen the government's support plummet from around a third to roughly under a fifth.
"It can be hard being the MP of the area you have always lived in," said one. "The local pub is where we went with the kids and just be a normal family. But the last few times we've just ended up being confronted by other drinkers. Now I'm not even sure we'll be able to get in."
This feeling of frustration is clear in a recent video by Tom Hayes, the Labour MP for Bournemouth East, lamenting being banned from one of his regular haunts, the Larderhouse.
"It's the Christmas season," he said. "However the Larderhouse and other establishments with a 'MPs Not Welcome' sign in the window, they are eroding the community spirit that publicans have helped to foster." He continued, "We have to get politics off the town centre altogether, but particularly at Christmas."
A Cherished Institution in the Public Consciousness
After a challenging period marked by high costs, the pandemic, and changing habits, landlords were anticipating the budget might bring some assistance—namely through a much-anticipated revamp of the business rates system.
However the chancellor disappointed those hopes, leaving the system largely unchanged and opting rather to reduce the multiplier and pledge £4.3bn over three years in aid for the shops, pubs, and restaurants sectors.
While perhaps a gesture of goodwill, the benefit of that support package has been minimized by the effect of a periodic property reassessment, which has caused the valuation of pubs and restaurants to increase sharply from their pandemic-era lows.
Starting from next April, business taxes are set to increase by more than double for the average hotel and over three-quarters for a pub, in contrast to just 4% for big grocery chains and 7% for distribution warehouses. A major hospitality group, which operates multiple brands, says it will face an extra tax bill of between £40m and £50m as a result.
Joe Butler, the publican at the Tollemache Arms in Northamptonshire, said: "Virtually instantly, the valuation of our business has increased twofold. That's going to be a huge increase for us."
This burden on business owners is inevitably reflected in the price of a customer's pint.
"The cost of a drink is now unaffordable. When we first took this pub on 10 years ago, we charged £3.40 a pint. We're now nearly £7 a pint," Butler said.
At the same time, Covid-era tax discounts are ending, while hospitality operators are still absorbing increases in national insurance and the living wage from the previous budget.
"If you wanted to write the worst possible budget for pubs and consumers, you would have come close to what was announced," remarked Ash Corbett-Collins, the chairperson of Camra, the campaign for real ale.
A number within the Labour party think this is a battle they should not have picked, not least because of the important place the community pub holds in British culture.
Richard Quigley, the MP for the Isle of Wight West, who also operates a chip shop on the island, commented: "We said for two years to the sector that we are going to provide support but then they get hit by this revaluation. We must not see taxes going down for big corporations but increasing for small restaurants and pubs."
Observers note that Keir Starmer himself has long been a frequent patron at his local, the Pineapple in north London, and frequently speaks of their significance to local communities. "There is little we prefer than going to the pub for a drink, myself included," the PM said in February.
However strategists liken confronting pub owners to taking on NHS workers in terms of public perception.
Joe Twyman, director of the polling firm Deltapoll, explained: "From the Queen Vic to the Rovers Return, pubs have a special place in the British psyche.
"For many people the local pub is perceived to be an important part of the locality, even if a good proportion of those same people will rarely actually drink there.
"The political risk with antagonising pubs is that your political rivals will readily accuse you of assaulting the foundation of this nation and its traditions, notably in the countryside. And they will be able to produce many powerful examples to drive the message home."
'A Matter of Principle'
One such example is Andy Lennox, the landlord at the Old Thatch pub in Wimborne, Dorset, and the organiser of the "MPs Barred" initiative. Lennox states he has handed out stickers to nearly 1,000 premises and is mailing 100 more every day.
His action has been backed by a number of high-profile figures, including broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson, who owns a pub called the Farmer's Dog, and pop star Rick Astley, who has a stake in a brewpub in north London—however the latter has clarified he will not actually ban Labour MPs.
"We have pleaded for support for a considerable period," stated Lennox, who is advocating for a short-term VAT reduction. "Ministers is presenting this as a support measure but that's not what people are feeling, and that is the thing that has aggrieved so many people."
Several within the sector feel a protest targeting individual politicians is may backfire. "I doubt it's a effective strategy to ban the precise representatives we should be trying to persuade and lobby," said Corbett-Collins.
When pressed this week, the Exchequer pointed to the assistance being made available to hospitality. "We have aided the hospitality industry with the budget's £4.3bn funding. This comes on top of our work to ease licensing, keeping our reduction to alcohol duty on beer from the tap, and limiting corporation tax," a spokesperson stated.
The landlords, on the other hand, are in no mood to back down, even if losing MPs
