Andy Burnham live: Tom Kerridge says rate cut for pubs ‘won’t make a difference’ as he hits out at PM’s plan

The Independent’s political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

Kemi Badenoch said if Andy Burnham wants to call early elections, we are ready.

He insisted the Conservatives were “always ready” for a general election and called an election if he could not find the money to fund defence.

The Independent’s political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

Kemi Badenoch has issued a stern warning to Andy Burnham, urging him to fix the economy first.

Taking aim at the new spending pledges he announced this week, the Tory leader told a press conference in central London: “If you try to tackle the cost of living without fixing the economy you will fail.”

The Independent’s political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

Kemi Badenoch suggested Andy Burnham was at risk of becoming like Liz Truss, saying: “Four years ago a prime minister announced policies without saving money. And it didn’t end well.”

He added: “He doesn’t actually know what he wants to do, he’s thinking out loud. All we know is it’s going to cost a lot of money.”

“Andy Burnham needs to ignore tax increases to pay for his spending spree.”

The Independent’s political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

Kemi Badenoch said Andy Burnham “seemed like a nice guy” but accused him of having “too small” ambitions for Britain.

He told a press conference in central London: “I’m glad he has a sense of humour, it’s needed in this business.”

Responding to the policies he has unveiled in his first week in office, she said: “Is that it?”

“Britain is the world’s fifth largest economy… and our new prime minister’s big idea is £2 bus fares,” he said, adding: “Our problems go far beyond bus fares and VAT on bills.”

David Maddox, political editor of The Independent, reports:

Entrepreneur Sacha Lord, chairman of the Night Time Industries Association and an ally of Andy Burnham, said: IndependentHe said a 20 per cent discount for bars, clubs and music venues could be “just the beginning” of the aid.

The Prime Minister campaigned for the hospitality industry when he was mayor of Greater Manchester and raised concerns that costs were forcing many venues to close.

Mr Lord noted that “every little bit helps” in easing business rates.

David Maddox, political editor of The Independent, reports:

Mo Metcalf-Fisher, director of external affairs at Countryside Alliance, which campaigns for rural businesses, including pubs, said: “This further cut to business rates for pubs is welcome. Rural pubs form part of the backbone of rural communities across the country, providing employment and serving as key centers on the front line in tackling loneliness.

“It is encouraging that Andy Burnham, so early in his premiership, is seeking to ease some of the burdens faced by public servants. We must not lose sight of the fact that this stems from the business rates revaluation last November, which put paper valuations of businesses (the values ​​from which bill rates are calculated) at an average of 30 per cent.

“We also heard that valuation increases were clearly uneven, with some increasing by as much as four times and many going above the threshold that would make them liable to pay business interest.

“What is needed to make rural business rates work is fundamental reform of how they affect hospitality venues and others such as equestrian businesses that need large facilities to operate.”

We’re only on day four of Andy Burnham’s premiership and he’s already announced his third mini-gift.

So how will Mr. Burnham pay for these and other gifts, as well as much bigger ticket items to come in the future?

A hotel owner said the cut to business rates “won’t make a significant difference” after rates were reassessed and increased for some in April.

Steve Perez, who owns two hotels, both pubs and restaurants, told BBC Radio 4: today schedule: “Our business rates went up to about 130 percent (in April).

“So that small, well, obviously £1,000 is welcome, but it’s not going to make a material difference to any pub.

“And it’s interesting to know that they’re not talking about restaurants and hotels because remember most bars these days serve food and many bars also have accommodation.

“And we’ve had increases in national insurance, we’ve got the EPR, the tax no one’s heard of; extended producer liability.

“And it’s a bit like supermarkets putting up prices and then saying they’ve lowered them.”

Iain Hoskins, who runs the Ma Pub Group in Liverpool, said the business rates cuts were only minor compared to the increases the sector had achieved this year.

Mr Hoskins said: “I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but the increases we got last year are so big that by eliminating some of them now we can’t get better value than we did before.”

The cut in rates reportedly equates to a reduction of around £1,000 per pub per year.