'Entry Denied!': The Government's Dispute with Pubs Signals a Upcoming Year Problem.

Government ministers returning to their constituencies this weekend might feel a sense of relief as a hectic political term concludes. Yet, for those planning to visit their neighborhood bar for a casual beer, festive cheer could be scarce. Indeed, some may find they are unwelcome inside.

Over the past few weeks, venues across the country have been displaying signs that declare "No Labour MPs" in objection to changes in commercial property taxes unveiled by the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, in her autumn budget.

This protest translates to one fewer retreat for many government backbenchers seeking solace from the harsh truth of their public disapproval. MPs now describe frequent antagonism in community settings after a difficult first period that has seen the government's support fall from around a third to roughly under a fifth.

"It is difficult being the MP of the constituency you have always lived in," remarked one. "The local pub is where we went with the kids and just be a ordinary family. But the past occasions we've just ended up being shouted at by other customers. Now I'm not even sure we'll be able to be served."

This palpable disappointment is clear in a recent video by Tom Hayes, the Labour MP for Bournemouth East, discussing being barred from one of his regular haunts, the Larderhouse.

"It's the Christmas season," he noted. "Yet the Larderhouse and other establishments with a 'MPs Not Welcome' sticker in the window, they are eroding the community spirit that publicans have helped to foster." He went on, "Politics must be kept politics off the high street completely, but particularly at Christmas."

A Cornerstone in the Public Consciousness

After a challenging period marked by rising expenses, the pandemic, and changing habits, licensees were hopeful the chancellor's statement might bring some support—particularly through a much-anticipated overhaul of the commercial tax system.

But the chancellor disappointed those expectations, keeping the system unreformed and opting rather to lower the multiplier and pledge £4.3bn over three years in aid for the shops, pubs, and restaurants sectors.

While seemingly a positive step, the benefit of that support package has been overshadowed by the effect of a periodic property reassessment, which has caused the taxable value of hospitality venues to spike from their pandemic-era lows.

Starting from next April, rates are set to jump by 115% for the average hotel and over three-quarters for a pub, compared with just four percent for large supermarkets and 7% for logistics centres. Whitbread, which owns pubs, restaurants and the Premier Inn hotel chain, states it will face an extra tax bill of between £40m and £50m as a outcome.

Joe Butler, the landlord at the Tollemache Arms in Northamptonshire, said: "With the click of a finger, the value of our business has doubled. That's going to be a massive rise for us."

This burden on publicans is inevitably passed on to the price of a customer's pint.

"The cost of a drink is now prohibitively expensive. When we first took this pub on 10 years ago, we charged £3.40 a pint. We're now approaching £7 a pint," Butler stated.

Furthermore, Covid-era tax discounts are being phased out, while hospitality operators are still coping with increases in employer contributions and the minimum wage from the previous budget.

"If you tried to design the most damaging financial plan for pubs and consumers, you would have come close to what came out," remarked Ash Corbett-Collins, the chairperson of Camra, the consumer organisation.

Many within the governing party feel this is a fight they should not have picked, not least because of the central place the community pub plays in British culture.

Richard Quigley, the MP for the Isle of Wight West, who also runs a chip shop on the island, said: "We said for two years to the sector that we are going to help you out but then they get slapped with this new assessment. We must not see rates going down for big corporations but up for local venues."

Some highlight that Keir Starmer himself has historically been a regular at his local, the Pineapple in north London, and frequently speaks of their value to local communities. "We all enjoy nothing more than going to the pub for a pint, myself included," the PM said in February.

However pollsters liken picking a fight with publicans to challenging NHS workers in terms of popular sentiment.

Joe Twyman, co-founder of the public opinion consultancy Deltapoll, explained: "From the Queen Vic to the Rovers Return, pubs have a cherished status in the public imagination.

"To a lot of individuals the local pub is perceived to be an integral component of the locality, even if a good proportion of those same people will seldom drink there.

"The hazard with antagonising pubs is that your opponents will readily accuse you of attacking the very heart of this nation and its traditions, especially in the countryside. And they will be able to produce many heartfelt examples to make their case."

'Not a Personal Vendetta'

One such case is Andy Lennox, the landlord at the Old Thatch pub in Wimborne, Dorset, and the coordinator of the "MPs Barred" campaign. Lennox states he has handed out signs to nearly 1,000 premises and is mailing 100 more every day.

His action has gained the endorsement of a number of well-known figures, such as broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson, who runs a pub called the Farmer's Dog, and singer Rick Astley, who has a stake in a brewpub in north London—though the latter has indicated he will not refuse service to Labour MPs.

"We have been asking for support for a very long time," stated Lennox, who is advocating for a temporary VAT reduction. "The government is presenting this as a support measure but that's not what people are experiencing, and that is the thing that has aggrieved so many people."

Some within the hospitality trade feel a campaign singling out individual Labour MPs is may have unintended consequences. "It's questionable it's a wise move to ban the exact people we should be trying to invite in and speak to," commented Corbett-Collins.

When asked this week, the Treasury spoke of the package being provided to the sector. "We're protecting pubs, restaurants and cafes with the budget's £4.3bn funding. This follows our efforts to simplify licensing, keeping our reduction to alcohol duty on beer from the tap, and capping corporation tax," a official commented.

The publicans, on the other hand, are in no mood to compromise, even if losing MPs