Elected representatives visiting their home districts this weekend might feel a sense of relief as a chaotic parliamentary session concludes. But, for those hoping to stop by their neighborhood bar for a relaxing pint, holiday spirit could be in short supply. Actually, some may realize they are not allowed through the door.
For weeks, establishments nationwide have been putting up signs that declare "No Labour MPs" in protest to revisions in business rates unveiled by the Finance Minister, Rachel Reeves, in her most recent budget.
This movement means one fewer retreat for many Labour MPs seeking refuge from the harsh truth of their slumping poll ratings. Representatives now describe regular animosity in everyday places after a difficult first period that has seen the party's ratings plummet from around 34% to roughly 18%.
"It is difficult being the MP of the area you have always lived in," remarked one. "Our neighborhood bar is where we would go with the kids and just be a regular family. But the recent visits we've just ended up being shouted at by other patrons. Now I'm not even sure we'll be able to get in."
This sense of dismay is clear in a online clip by Tom Hayes, the Labour MP for Bournemouth East, discussing being barred from one of his local pubs, the Larderhouse.
"We're in the festive period," he said. "However the Larderhouse and other establishments with a 'No Labour MPs' sign in the window, they are eroding the inclusive culture that business owners have helped to cultivate." He went on, "We have to get politics off the main street full stop, but particularly at Christmas."
After a difficult few years marked by rising expenses, the pandemic, and evolving social trends, landlords were optimistic the budget might bring some assistance—particularly through a overdue revamp of the commercial tax system.
However the chancellor disappointed those hopes, keeping the system unreformed and choosing instead to reduce the multiplier and allocate £4.3bn over three years in funding for the shops, pubs, and restaurants sectors.
While perhaps a positive step, the impact of that funding pledge has been minimized by the effect of a periodic property reassessment, which has caused the taxable value of hospitality venues to spike from their Covid-affected lows.
Beginning in next April, business taxes are set to increase by more than double for the typical hotel and 76% for a public house, compared with just 4% for large supermarkets and seven percent for logistics centres. A major hospitality group, which owns multiple brands, estimates it will face an extra tax bill of between £40m and £50m as a consequence.
Joe Butler, the publican at the Tollemache Arms in Northamptonshire, said: "Virtually instantly, the value of our business has increased twofold. That's going to be a huge increase for us."
This pressure on publicans is certainly felt in the price of a punter's pint.
"A pint of beer is now too high. When we first started here 10 years ago, we charged £3.40 a pint. We're now approaching £7 a pint," Butler said.
Furthermore, pandemic-related tax breaks are being phased out, while sector businesses are still managing increases in employer contributions and the minimum wage from last year's budget.
"To create the most damaging financial plan for the hospitality sector and its customers, you would have come close to what came out," remarked Ash Corbett-Collins, the chair of Camra, the consumer organisation.
Several within the governing party feel this is a fight they could have sidestepped, not least because of the vital place the neighborhood inn holds in British culture.
Richard Quigley, the Labour MP for the Isle of Wight West, who also operates a fish and chip shop on the island, said: "We said for two years to the sector that we are going to provide support but then they get hit by this new assessment. We cannot allow taxes going down for big corporations but up for independent businesses."
Commentators highlight that Keir Starmer himself has historically been a regular at his local pub, the Pineapple in north London, and frequently speaks of their importance to local communities. "There's nothing any of us like better than going to the local for a pint, myself included," the prime minister remarked in February.
Yet strategists liken picking a fight with publicans to taking on NHS workers in terms of political risk.
Joe Twyman, director of the public opinion consultancy Deltapoll, said: "From soap operas to real life, pubs have a unique position in the public imagination.
"In the public's view the neighborhood inn is perceived to be an key pillar of the community, even if a large segment of those same people will seldom drink there.
"The danger for politicians with antagonising pubs is that your critics will quickly accuse you of undermining the foundation of this nation and its traditions, notably in rural areas. And they will be able to produce many emotive examples to make their case."
One such instance is Andy Lennox, the landlord at the Old Thatch pub in Wimborne, Dorset, and the coordinator of the "No Labour MPs" campaign. Lennox says he has provided notices to nearly 1,000 venues and is mailing 100 more every day.
His action has received support from a number of high-profile figures, such as television presenter Jeremy Clarkson, who owns a pub called the Farmer's Dog, and singer Rick Astley, who has a stake in a brewpub in north London—however the latter has said he will not actually ban Labour MPs.
"We have been asking for relief for a very long time," said Lennox, who is advocating for a temporary VAT reduction. "The government is dressing this up as a relief package but that's not what people are experiencing, and that is the thing that has aggrieved so many people."
A number within the industry feel a protest targeting individual Labour MPs is could backfire. "I'm not sure it's a effective strategy to ban the precise representatives we should be trying to invite in and lobby," commented Corbett-Collins.
When questioned this week, the Exchequer pointed to the package being provided to hospitality. "We have aided the hospitality industry with the budget's £4.3bn support package. This follows our initiatives to simplify licensing, keeping our reduction to alcohol duty on draught pints, and capping corporation tax," a spokesperson commented.
The business owners, however, are in little mood to yield, even if turning away MPs
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