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'Entry Denied!': The Government's Clash with Local Inns Promises a New Year Headache.
Elected representatives visiting their local areas this weekend might breathe a sigh of relief as a chaotic political term ends. However, for those hoping to stop by their community tavern for a relaxing pint, festive cheer could be scarce. Indeed, some may discover they are unwelcome inside.
In recent weeks, venues across the country have been posting signs that proclaim "Labour MPs Not Welcome" in protest to revisions in business rates announced by the Finance Minister, Rachel Reeves, in her autumn budget.
This movement results in one fewer haven for many elected officials seeking refuge from the bruising reality of their slumping poll ratings. MPs now say frequent animosity in public spaces after a difficult first period that has seen the party's ratings fall from around 34% to roughly 18%.
"It's challenging being the representative of the area you have forever lived in," commented one. "That pub is where we would go with the kids and just be a ordinary family. But the last few times we've just ended up being verbally abused by other patrons. Now I'm not even sure we'll be able to be served."
This feeling of frustration is visible in a online clip by Tom Hayes, the Member of Parliament for Bournemouth East, addressing being barred from one of his regular haunts, the Larderhouse.
"It's meant to be a time of joy," he noted. "But the Larderhouse and other businesses with a 'MPs Not Welcome' sticker in the window, they are damaging the welcoming atmosphere that local entrepreneurs have helped to nourish." He added, "We need to remove politics off the town centre completely, but especially at Christmas."
A Cornerstone in the British Psyche
After a challenging period marked by high costs, the pandemic, and changing habits, landlords were hopeful the chancellor's statement might bring some assistance—specifically through a long-promised overhaul of the business rates system.
Yet the chancellor dashed those hopes, keeping the system largely unchanged and choosing instead to reduce the multiplier and commit £4.3bn over three years in financial support for the retail and hospitality sectors.
While seemingly a supportive move, the impact of that funding pledge has been dwarfed by the effect of a three-yearly property revaluation, which has caused the rateable value of pubs and restaurants to increase sharply from their Covid-affected lows.
Starting from next April, business taxes are set to rise by 115% for the typical hotel and over three-quarters for a public house, compared with just 4% for large supermarkets and seven percent for distribution warehouses. A major hospitality group, which operates pubs, restaurants and the Premier Inn hotel chain, states it will face an additional tax bill of between £40m and £50m as a result.
Joe Butler, the landlord at the Tollemache Arms in Northamptonshire, commented: "With the click of a finger, the worth of our business has doubled. That's going to be a massive rise for us."
This financial strain on business owners is directly felt in the price of a punter's pint.
"The price of a pint is now unaffordable. When we first took this pub on 10 years ago, we charged £3.40 a pint. We're now verging on £7 a pint," Butler stated.
At the same time, pandemic-related tax reliefs are being phased out, while hospitality operators are still coping with rises in national insurance and the minimum wage from last year's budget.
"If you wanted to write the most damaging budget for the hospitality sector and its customers, you wouldn't have got far away from what was announced," said Ash Corbett-Collins, the chair of Camra, the consumer organisation.
A number within the Labour party feel this is a confrontation they should not have picked, not least because of the vital place the neighborhood inn holds in national life.
Richard Quigley, the Labour MP for the Isle of Wight West, who also runs a chip shop on the island, commented: "We said for two years to pubs and hospitality businesses that we are going to help you out but then they get hit by this new assessment. We cannot allow taxes being reduced for big corporations but up for independent businesses."
Observers point out that Keir Starmer himself has historically been a regular at his local pub, the Pineapple in north London, and frequently speaks of their value to local communities. "There's nothing any of us like better than going to the local for a pint, myself included," the prime minister stated in February.
However pollsters liken confronting pub owners to taking on NHS workers in terms of public perception.
Joe Twyman, co-founder of the public opinion consultancy Deltapoll, noted: "From the Queen Vic to the Rovers Return, pubs have a unique position in the national consciousness.
"For many people the local pub is seen as an key pillar of the community, even if a large segment of those same people will rarely actually drink there.
"The hazard with antagonising pubs is that your critics will quickly accuse you of attacking the core of this country and its traditions, especially in rural areas. And they will be able to produce many emotive examples to make their case."
'A Matter of Principle'
One such instance is Andy Lennox, the landlord at the Old Thatch pub in Wimborne, Dorset, and the coordinator of the "MPs Barred" initiative. Lennox says he has provided stickers to nearly 1,000 venues and is dispatching 100 more every day.
His campaign has been backed by a number of well-known figures, such as broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson, who runs 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 indicated he will not formally bar Labour MPs.
"We have been asking for relief for a very long time," stated Lennox, who is demanding a temporary VAT reduction. "The Treasury is presenting this as a helpful policy but that's not what people are seeing, and that is the thing that has angered so many people."
Several within the hospitality trade believe a campaign singling out individual Labour MPs is may be counterproductive. "I doubt it's a effective strategy to ban the precise representatives we should be trying to invite in and lobby," said Corbett-Collins.
When asked this week, the government department spoke of the support being offered to hospitality. "We're protecting pubs, restaurants and cafes with the budget's £4.3bn investment. This comes on top of our initiatives to ease licensing, keeping our reduction to alcohol duty on beer from the tap, and limiting corporation tax," a representative commented.
The publicans, on the other hand, are in no mood to compromise, even if turning away MPs
Brian Hernandez
A passionate writer and shopping enthusiast with a keen eye for quality products and lifestyle trends.
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