'Entry Denied!': The Government's Dispute with Pubs Promises a Fresh Year Challenge.

Labour MPs visiting their home districts this weekend might feel a sense of relief as a chaotic political term wraps up. However, for those hoping to frequent their neighborhood bar for a casual beer, holiday spirit could be in short supply. Indeed, some may discover they are barred from entry.

Over the past few weeks, businesses across the country have been posting signs that state "Labour MPs Not Welcome" in protest to revisions in business rates revealed by the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, in her latest financial statement.

This protest translates to one fewer retreat for many government backbenchers seeking solace from the harsh truth of their party's unpopularity. MPs now describe frequent hostility in everyday places after a challenging first 18 months that has seen the government's support drop sharply from around 34% to roughly under a fifth.

"It can be hard being the representative of the area you have forever lived in," said one. "The local pub is where we would go with the kids and just be a normal family. But the recent visits 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 sense of dismay is visible in a online clip by Tom Hayes, the Member of Parliament for Bournemouth East, discussing being banned from one of his regular haunts, the Larderhouse.

"It's meant to be a time of joy," he stated. "However the Larderhouse and other establishments with a 'No Labour MPs' notice in the window, they are damaging the community spirit that publicans have helped to cultivate." He added, "We have to get politics off the town centre full stop, but above all at Christmas."

'Pubs Have a Special Place in the National Identity

After a challenging period marked by high costs, the COVID-19 crisis, and evolving social trends, publicans were optimistic the budget might bring some relief—specifically through a long-promised revamp of the commercial tax system.

But the chancellor dashed those hopes, keeping the system largely unchanged and opting rather to reduce the multiplier and allocate £4.3bn over three years in financial support for the retail and hospitality sectors.

While seemingly a gesture of goodwill, the value of that funding pledge has been dwarfed by the effect of a three-yearly property revaluation, which has caused the valuation of hospitality venues to surge from their pandemic-era lows.

Starting from next April, business taxes are set to jump by more than double for the average hotel and 76% for a pub, compared with just four percent for large supermarkets and seven percent for distribution warehouses. A major hospitality group, 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 consequence.

Joe Butler, the landlord at the Tollemache Arms in Northamptonshire, explained: "Literally overnight, the valuation of our business has doubled. That's going to be a significant burden for us."

This financial strain on publicans is certainly reflected in the price of a customer's pint.

"The cost of a drink is now prohibitively expensive. When we first became landlords 10 years ago, we charged £3.40 a pint. We're now verging on £7 a pint," Butler said.

At the same time, Covid-era tax discounts are falling away, while hospitality operators are still absorbing increases in employer contributions and the living wage from last year's budget.

"To create the most damaging budget for pubs and consumers, you couldn't have done much worse than what was announced," stated Ash Corbett-Collins, the chair of Camra, the campaign for real ale.

A number within the governing party believe this is a battle they could have sidestepped, not least because of the central role the local pub holds in national life.

Richard Quigley, the Labour MP for the Isle of Wight West, who also operates a fish and chip shop on the island, commented: "We promised for two years to the sector that we are going to help you out but then they get slapped with this new assessment. We cannot allow taxes being reduced for large multinational companies but up for independent businesses."

Observers highlight that Keir Starmer himself has often been a regular at his local, the Pineapple in north London, and often references their significance to local communities. "There's nothing any of us like better than going to the pub for a pint, myself included," the PM remarked in February.

But pollsters compare confronting publicans to taking on NHS workers in terms of political risk.

Joe Twyman, director of the polling firm Deltapoll, said: "From the Queen Vic to the Rovers Return, pubs have a unique position in the national consciousness.

"In the public's view the neighborhood inn is seen as an key pillar of the locality, even if a significant number of those same people will infrequently drink there.

"The danger for politicians with making an enemy of pubs is that your critics will quickly accuse you of undermining the foundation of this country and its heritage, particularly in rural areas. And they will be able to produce many emotive examples to make their case."

'A Matter of Principle'

One such example is Andy Lennox, the landlord at the Old Thatch pub in Wimborne, Dorset, and the organiser of the "No Labour MPs" campaign. Lennox says he has handed out notices to nearly 1,000 venues and is dispatching 100 more every day.

His protest has gained the endorsement of several well-known figures, such as broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson, who owns a pub called the Farmer's Dog, and singer Rick Astley, who has a stake in a bar in north London—though the latter has clarified he will not formally bar Labour MPs.

"We have pleaded for support for a considerable period," stated Lennox, who is calling for a temporary VAT reduction. "The government is dressing this up as a relief package but that's not what people are feeling, and that is the thing that has aggrieved so many people."

A number within the industry believe a campaign singling out individual Labour MPs is may backfire. "I doubt it's a wise move to ban the precise representatives we should be trying to persuade and lobby," commented Corbett-Collins.

When pressed this week, the Treasury highlighted the package being offered to the sector. "We have aided the hospitality industry with the budget's £4.3bn investment. This follows our initiatives to simplify licensing, keeping our cut to alcohol duty on beer from the tap, and capping corporation tax," a representative stated.

The landlords, on the other hand, are in no mood to yield, even if alienating MPs