‘You’re barred!’: Labour’s battle with pubs promises a new year headache | Tax and spending
Labor MPs returning to their constituencies this weekend will do so with a sense of relief that another turbulent period in British politics is over. But those hoping to meet colleagues and constituents at local pubs for a refreshing pint may find festive cheer in short supply. Some may not even be allowed in the door.
Bars across the country have been we were putting up signs He declared “No Labor MP” to protest changes to business rates announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her last budget.
For many Labor MPs, the campaign means they have one less place to escape the painful reality that their party is unpopular. Backbenchers say they now frequently face hostility in public spaces after a difficult first 18 months in which the party’s ratings fell from 34 per cent to 18 per cent.
“It can be difficult to be an MP for the district you’ve always lived in,” one of them said. “The local bar is where we used to go with the kids and be like a normal family. But the last few times other customers started yelling at us. I’m not even sure we can go in anymore.”
This sense of dread is visibly felt last video Tom Hayes, Labor MP for Bournemouth East, posted about being banned from one of his local pubs, the Larderhouse.
“This Christmas season is supposed to be a joyous season,” he said. “But Larderhouse and other businesses with No Labor stickers in their windows undermine the inclusive culture that business owners help foster locally.”
He continued: “We need to remove politics from the high street completely, especially at Christmas.”
As well as preventing politicians from finding a haven in ordinary political storms, the debate threatens to tarnish the generally positive reaction to last month’s budget, in which Reeves won the backing of backbenchers and financial markets by raising taxes and removing the two-child benefit cap.
“The bar row is the only weak spot in the budget,” one minister admitted. “That’s what we may have to move backwards from.”
‘Pubs have a special place in the British psyche’
After a tough few years where pubs have been hit by high costs, the pandemic and the impact of young people going out less, publicans were optimistic that this budget could bring some relief, especially with the long-promised renewal of business rates.
But the chancellor poured cold water on those hopes, ruling out reforming the system and choosing instead to slash headline rates and pledge £4.3bn of financial support to the retail and hospitality sectors over three years.
This may seem like a goodwill gesture, but the value of this support package has been dwarfed by the impact of three years of property revaluation, which has caused the taxable value of pubs and restaurants to skyrocket from its Covid-affected lows.
From next April, prices will increase by 115% for the average hotel and 76% for a pub, while this will increase by 4% for large supermarkets and 7% for distribution warehouses. Whitbread, which owns pubs, restaurants and the Premier Inn hotel chain, says it will have to pay between £40 million and £50 million in tax as a result.
Joe Butler, landlord of the Tollemache Arms in Northamptonshire, said: “Literally overnight, at the click of a finger, the value of our business has doubled. That’s going to be a huge boost for us.”
And the pressure on publicans inevitably spills over into the price of a punter’s pint.
“The price of a pint is now unaffordable. When we first opened this pub 10 years ago we were charging £3.40 a pint. We’re now approaching £7 a pint,” Butler said.
At the same time, Covid-era tax breaks are dwindling and hospitality operators are still covering national insurance and minimum wage increases from last year’s budget.
“If you wanted to write the worst possible budget for pubs and consumers, you wouldn’t be able to get away from what came out,” said Ash Corbett-Collins, chief executive of real ale campaign Camra.
Many in the Labor Party believe this is a fight they should not pick, not least because of the role the local pub plays in British culture.
Richard Quigley, Labor MP for the West Isle of Wight, who also runs a chip shop on the island, said: “For two years we told pubs and hospitality businesses we would help you, but then they got hit by this revaluation. We can’t expect rates to go up for small restaurants and pubs and not go down for big multinationals.”
Some note that Keir Starmer has been a long-time regular at his local bar, Pineapple, in north London, and often speaks of their importance to local communities. The Prime Minister said in February: “None of us, myself included, have anything better than going somewhere local for a pint.”
But pollsters liken fighting with pub owners to fighting with NHS workers.
Joe Twyman, co-founder of public consultancy Deltapoll, said: “From Queen Vic [in EastEnders] To the Return of Rovers [in Coronation Street]Pubs have a special place in the British psyche.
“For many people, local pubs are perceived as an important part of society, even though a significant number of the same people drink there.
“The political risk of being hostile to pubs is that your opponents can easily accuse you of attacking the very heart of this country and its history, especially the countryside. And they will be able to produce many emotional examples to prove their point.”
‘Not a personal revenge’
One such example is Andy Lennox, landlord of the Old Thatch pub in Wimborne, Dorset, and organizer of the “No to Labor MPs” campaign. Lennox says it has distributed stickers to approximately 1,000 organizations and will send out 100 more each day.
got support from him Presenter Jeremy Clarksonwho runs a bar called the Farmer’s Dog and Rick AstleyHe is part owner of the Mikkeller beer bar in north London – although the pop star has said he would not actually ban Labor MPs.
Calling for a temporary VAT cut, Lennox said: “We’ve been asking for help for a very long time.” “The government is making it sound like a relief package, but that’s not what people are experiencing, and that’s what’s victimizing so many people.”
Some in the industry think a protest targeting individual Labor MPs is likely to backfire. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea to ban exactly the people we should be inviting and talking to,” Corbett-Collins said.
When asked this week, the Treasury talked about the support offered to hospitality. “We’re protecting pubs, restaurants and cafes with the Budget’s £4.3bn support package. This comes in addition to our efforts to streamline licensing, cut alcohol duty on cask beers and cap corporation tax to help more venues offer pavement drinks and host one-off events,” a spokesman said.
But even if losing their MP means losing another loyal customer, the landlords are not willing to back down.
Referring to the local MP, Butler said: “We know Rosie Writing well and she is our client.
“This is not a personal vendetta against anyone personally, this is not aggressively pushing anyone out. We politely ask them to leave. This is nothing personal. It’s just a stance we have collectively adopted as an industry.”
