Pubs protest against Labour tax hike that threatens to close them down | Politics | News

Pub owners will march on Westminster to protest a massive rise in business rates that could force them to close. Among those attending the rally on January 30 is Andy Lennox, landlord of the Old Thatch pub in Dorset. Andy Lennox led a campaign to ban Labor MPs from the country’s drinking establishments.

He said: “All business organizations and many large organizations are now starting to organize for proper industrial action. A protest is planned for the end of the month and we are now looking at some form of major industrial action.” Ash Corbett-Collins, chief executive of Campaign for Real Ale, said: “Instead of months of uncertainty and expectation that thousands of pubs will have to close their doors for good, the Prime Minister and Chancellor should bow to pressure, accept the inevitable and rethink now.”

The average community pub’s business rates will rise by £6,000 under changes announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, while 4,800 of the smallest pubs will receive a business rates bill for the first time, according to the British Beer and Pub Association.

Ms Reeves was banned from entering her local pub, the Marsh Inn, in her Leeds West and Pudsey constituency, and Mr Lennox handed out more than 1,000 stickers reading “No Labor MPs” to organizations that requested them.

Labor MP Rachel Maskell expressed her concerns to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in Parliament on Wednesday.

Planned new road safety laws that effectively ban driving after any consumption of alcohol will cause further hardship for rural pubs, according to some campaigners.

Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, said: “This appears to be yet another piece of Whitehall policy thinking that is not friendly to rural areas and is likely to have a disproportionate knock-on effect on rural pubs.”

Downing Street said ministers were holding talks with the pub trade. A spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office said: “The Prime Minister has made it clear that discussions with the industry are continuing and we are talking to them about what further support we can provide.”