'Entry Denied!': Labour's Clash with Local Inns Promises a Fresh Year Problem.
Labour MPs heading back to their local areas this end of the week might breathe a sigh of relief as a hectic parliamentary session concludes. But, for those hoping to frequent their community tavern for a relaxing drink, festive cheer could be in short supply. Actually, some may find they are unwelcome inside.
Over the past few weeks, businesses nationwide have been displaying signs that state "MPs Barred" in protest to adjustments in business rates announced by the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, in her latest budget.
This protest results in one fewer haven for many Labour MPs seeking refuge from the difficult situation of their public disapproval. Backbenchers now describe commonplace antagonism in public spaces after a challenging first period that has seen the government's support fall from around 34% to roughly 18%.
"It is difficult being the representative of the area you have forever lived in," commented one. "That pub is where we went with the kids and just be a regular family. But the past occasions we've just ended up being shouted at by other patrons. Now I'm not even sure we'll be able to be served."
This sense of dismay is clear in a recent video by Tom Hayes, the Member of Parliament for Bournemouth East, lamenting being barred from one of his local pubs, the Larderhouse.
"It's meant to be a time of joy," he said. "However the Larderhouse and other establishments with a 'MPs Not Welcome' sticker in the window, they are eroding the welcoming atmosphere that local entrepreneurs have helped to foster." He added, "Politics must be kept politics off the town centre full stop, but especially at Christmas."
A Cornerstone in the National Identity
After a tough times marked by rising expenses, the pandemic, and evolving social trends, publicans were anticipating the budget might bring some assistance—specifically through a overdue overhaul of the business rates system.
Yet the chancellor disappointed those expectations, keeping the system largely unchanged and choosing instead to reduce headline rates and pledge £4.3bn over three years in financial support for the retail and hospitality sectors.
While perhaps a gesture of goodwill, the value of that funding pledge has been minimized by the effect of a periodic property revaluation, which has caused the valuation of pubs and restaurants to increase sharply from their Covid-affected lows.
Starting from next April, rates are set to increase by 115% for the typical hotel and over three-quarters for a public house, compared with just four percent for large supermarkets and 7% for distribution warehouses. A major hospitality group, which owns multiple brands, states it will face an extra tax bill of between £40m and £50m as a result.
Joe Butler, the landlord at the Tollemache Arms in Northamptonshire, said: "With the click of a finger, the valuation of our business has increased twofold. That's going to be a huge increase for us."
This burden on publicans is certainly reflected in the price of a customer's pint.
"A pint of beer is now prohibitively expensive. When we first started here 10 years ago, we charged £3.40 a pint. We're now verging on £7 a pint," Butler added.
Simultaneously, Covid-era tax breaks are falling away, while sector businesses are still absorbing rises in national insurance and the minimum wage from last year's budget.
"To create the most damaging budget for the hospitality sector and its customers, you couldn't have done much worse than what was announced," said Ash Corbett-Collins, the chairperson of Camra, the consumer organisation.
Many within the Labour party feel this is a confrontation they should not have picked, not least because of the important place 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, argued: "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 revaluation. We cannot allow rates being reduced for big corporations but increasing for independent businesses."
Observers point out that Keir Starmer himself has often been a frequent patron at his local, the Pineapple in north London, and often references their value to local communities. "We all enjoy nothing more than going to the local for a pint, myself included," the PM stated in February.
However strategists compare picking a fight with publicans to challenging NHS workers in terms of political risk.
Joe Twyman, director of the public opinion consultancy Deltapoll, explained: "From the Queen Vic to the Rovers Return, pubs have a cherished status in the British psyche.
"In the public's view the local pub is perceived to be an important part of the community, even if a significant number of those same people will infrequently drink there.
"The political risk with antagonising pubs is that your opponents will easily be able to accuse you of assaulting the very heart of this country and its history, notably in the countryside. And they will be able to produce many heartfelt examples to drive the message home."
'Not a Personal Vendetta'
One such case is Andy Lennox, the publican at the Old Thatch pub in Wimborne, Dorset, and the coordinator of the "No Labour MPs" initiative. Lennox reports he has distributed stickers to nearly 1,000 venues and is mailing 100 more every day.
His action has been backed by a number of well-known figures, including television presenter Jeremy Clarkson, who owns a pub called the Farmer's Dog, and singer Rick Astley, who part-owns a brewpub in north London—though the latter has clarified he will not actually ban Labour MPs.
"We have pleaded for relief for a very long time," said Lennox, who is calling for a short-term VAT reduction. "The government is presenting this as a relief package but that's not what people are seeing, and that is the thing that has angered so many people."
Some within the hospitality trade feel a protest targeting individual Labour MPs is may have unintended consequences. "I'm not sure it's a effective strategy to ban the exact people we should be trying to persuade and influence," argued Corbett-Collins.
When pressed this week, the Exchequer highlighted the package being provided to the sector. "We have aided pubs, restaurants and cafes with the budget's £4.3bn investment. This comes on top of our work to simplify licensing, maintaining our reduction to alcohol duty on beer from the tap, and limiting corporation tax," a official stated.
The publicans, on the other hand, are in little mood to compromise, even if losing MPs
