HUNDREDS of furious landlords are barring PM Sir Keir Starmer and his Labour MPs from their boozers in protest at a sly Budget tax-grab.
They fear they will have to call last orders on pubs in the wake of the punishing Budget.
Scores have joined the Taxed Out campaign and back banning Labour MPs from boozers in protest.
Nearly 5,000 much-loved small pubs are set to pay huge business rates for the first time as the rateable values of premises are increased next year.
The Government is also replacing the temporary rates relief with a less generous system next year.
It means a typical pub’s annual business rates bill could jump by £6,000 — and tens of thousands of pounds in some cases.
And it comes with landlords already reeling from increased energy and staffing bills because of changes to the minimum wage and National Insurance payments.
More than 200 businesses are signed up to the Taxed Out campaign founded by Andy Lennox.
He said: “Every single person in hospitality should join this campaign and bar every Labour MP.
“The problem is that the vast majority won’t, because it’s scary – it’s not an easy thing. But this campaign is not about your local MP, it’s about the Government.
“We can’t close and go on strike, because none of us can afford to. We can’t go and do a day of action in London.
“We’ve done all the right stuff, sent letters to the MPs — I’ve spoken with mine — it just didn’t get us anywhere.”
Andy has put up a sign barring Labour MPs at The Old Thatch in Wimborne, Dorset, where tax rises last year meant his £1.6million turnover saw just £50,000 profit.
In last month’s Budget Chancellor Rachel Reeves pledged “permanently lower tax rates” for more than 750,000 retail, hospitality and leisure properties.
But this will be funded by higher rates on properties worth £500,000 or more.
And many pubs will come into this bracket when revalued next year.
At the same time, they will lose their 40 per cent rates relief from April.
Every single person in hospitality should join this campaign and bar every Labour MP
Andy Lennox
This will be replaced by a five per cent discount to the multiplier that calculates their bill, much less than they had hoped for.
James Fowler, owner of The Larder House in Southbourne, Dorset, has banned Bournemouth East MP Tom Hayes and said: “We were led down the garden path thinking we’d be paying less.”
Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride warned: “Any Labour MP walking into a pub today is a brave soul after the hammering Rachel Reeves has given them. Hard-working pub owners are understandably furious and their patience is running thin.
“Their businesses are being driven off a cliff. If Ms Reeves wants a warm welcome, she’ll need to fix the mess first.”
The Government has offered a £4.3billion pot to soften the impact of the new rates.
But the British Beer and Pub Association wants a 30 per cent “pub-specific relief” to protect 15,000 jobs.
Boss Emma McClarkin said: “The very existence of thousands of pubs is at stake.”
Steve Perez, of drinks firm Global Brands, said the hospitality sector has received the opposite of support.
He said one of his hotels will be hit with a £45,000 rise in the property tax even though it has only 27 bedrooms.
Mr Perez added: “This is the straw that’s going to break the camel’s back for many hospitality businesses.
“The worst thing is, this has been done through the back door.”
TV chef Tom Kerridge added: “If hospitality venues face the same burden, it will directly impact communities and the vibrancy of towns and cities.”
UKHospitality’s Kate Nicholls said: “Over the last year, we have seen two community pubs and neighbourhood restaurants close a day and 100,000 jobs lost.
Any Labour MP walking into a pub today is a brave soul after the hammering Rachel Reeves has given them
Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride
“That trend can only accelerate unless the punishing business tax bombshell is defused.”
Last night a Treasury spokesperson said: “We are protecting pubs, restaurants and cafés with the Budget’s £4.3billion support package.
“Without this pubs would face a 45 per cent increase in the total bills they pay next year. Because of the support we’ve put in place, we’ve got it down to four per cent.”
Spitting tacks at Rachel’s rates hit
By James Fowler, MP-ban restaurateur
PUBS and restaurants up and down the land are spitting tacks at the business rates shake-up.
We were led down the garden path thinking we would be paying less.
But our calculations show that under-pressure landlords and restaurant owners will be paying more.
The fact that 5,000 small pubs could be paying these rates for the first time is heartbreaking.
We’ve all got a lot on our plate with rising employment costs with the increase in national insurance and minimum wage costs.
Once these old pubs have gone, they’re not coming back.
These establishments are what makes Britain great.
We are calling on Rachel Reeves to change position on rates.
She wants the economy to flourish and the hospitality industry can be a big part of that.
We can’t have a situation where pubs and restaurants are paying the price while Amazon-style warehouses and supermarkets are off the hook.
I have already banned Labour MP Tom Hayes from my restaurant, The Larder House, in Bournemouth, until this is sorted out once and for all.
Bars get hammered
By Ryan Sabey
PUBS have been hammered by small-print hidden in last month’s Budget.
Rachel Reeves claimed there would be lower rates for 750,000 retail and hospitality properties.
It is only a 5p per pound “multiplier” reduction in business rates — after the industry called for 20p.
A 40 per cent discount from Covid ends in March.
And a higher assessment has been made to the value of buildings used to calculate the rates.
Labour’s manifesto insisted the business rates shake-up would level the playing field between the online giants and the High Street.
UKHospitality estimates pubs will face a £1,400 rise in their property tax bill next year but ministers say there is £4.3billion in relief available.
