'Not Welcome!': The Government's Battle with Local Inns Forecasts a Fresh Year Problem.

Elected representatives visiting their local areas this end of the week might feel a sense of respite as a chaotic political term ends. Yet, for those planning to stop by their community tavern for a relaxing pint, holiday spirit could be lacking. Actually, some may realize they are barred from entry.

In recent weeks, businesses throughout the nation have been putting up signs that proclaim "MPs Barred" in protest to changes in business rates announced by the Finance Minister, Rachel Reeves, in her latest financial statement.

This campaign means one fewer escape for many Labour MPs seeking refuge from the harsh truth of their public disapproval. Backbenchers now describe regular antagonism in public spaces after a difficult first year and a half that has seen the approval numbers drop sharply from around a third to roughly under a fifth.

"It can be hard being the MP of the constituency you have forever lived in," remarked one. "The local pub is where we used to go with the kids and just be a ordinary family. But the recent visits we've just ended up being verbally abused by other drinkers. Now I'm not even sure we'll be able to enter."

This sense of dismay is visible in a social media post by Tom Hayes, the Labour MP for Bournemouth East, addressing being refused entry to one of his local pubs, the Larderhouse.

"We're in the festive period," he noted. "However the Larderhouse and other businesses with a 'MPs Not Welcome' sticker in the window, they are undermining the welcoming atmosphere that publicans have helped to foster." He continued, "We have to get politics off the main street full stop, but especially at Christmas."

A Cornerstone in the National Identity

After a tough times marked by economic pressures, the pandemic, and changing habits, publicans were anticipating the chancellor's statement might bring some relief—particularly through a overdue overhaul of the business rates system.

However the chancellor poured cold water on those expectations, keeping the system unreformed and choosing instead to lower the multiplier and allocate £4.3bn over three years in funding for the shops, pubs, and restaurants sectors.

While seemingly a positive step, the value of that support package has been overshadowed by the effect of a periodic property revaluation, which has caused the valuation of pubs and restaurants to increase sharply from their pandemic-era lows.

Beginning in next April, rates are set to increase by more than double for the average hotel and 76% for a pub, versus just 4% for big grocery chains and seven percent for distribution warehouses. Whitbread, which owns pubs, restaurants and the Premier Inn hotel chain, estimates it will face an additional tax bill of between £40m and £50m as a result.

Joe Butler, the publican at the Tollemache Arms in Northamptonshire, explained: "Virtually instantly, the worth of our business has doubled. That's going to be a huge increase for us."

This pressure on publicans is inevitably felt in the price of a punter's pint.

"The cost of a drink is now unaffordable. 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, pandemic-related tax discounts are being phased out, while hospitality operators are still coping with rises in employer contributions and the living wage from last year's budget.

"If you wanted to write the most damaging budget for the hospitality sector and its customers, you would have come close to what we saw," said Ash Corbett-Collins, the chairperson of Camra, the campaign for real ale.

A number within the governing party feel this is a fight they could have sidestepped, not least because of the central role the neighborhood inn holds in society.

Richard Quigley, the MP for the Isle of Wight West, who also runs a fish and chip shop on the island, commented: "We said for two years to the sector that we are going to provide support but then they get affected by this new assessment. We can't have rates being reduced for big corporations but up for small restaurants and pubs."

Some point out that Keir Starmer himself has often been a regular at his local pub, the Pineapple in north London, and frequently speaks of their value to local communities. "There is little we prefer than going to the pub for a pint, myself included," the PM remarked in February.

But political analysts liken antagonising publicans to taking on NHS workers in terms of popular sentiment.

Joe Twyman, co-founder of the public opinion consultancy Deltapoll, said: "From soap operas to real life, pubs have a cherished status in the national consciousness.

"To a lot of individuals the local pub is perceived to be an important part of the community, even if a large segment of those same people will seldom drink there.

"The danger for politicians with alienating pubs is that your opponents will quickly accuse you of attacking the core of this nation and its traditions, especially in the countryside. And they will be able to produce many heartfelt 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 coordinator of the "MPs Barred" initiative. Lennox says he has distributed stickers to nearly 1,000 venues and is dispatching 100 more every day.

His protest 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 pop star Rick Astley, who has a stake in a brewpub in north London—though the latter has said he will not refuse service to Labour MPs.

"We have pleaded for support for a very long time," explained Lennox, who is demanding a temporary VAT reduction. "The Treasury is dressing this up as a helpful policy but that's not what people are feeling, and that is the thing that has frustrated so many people."

Some within the hospitality trade think a campaign singling out individual Labour MPs is likely to have unintended consequences. "I'm not sure it's a good idea to ban the exact people we should be trying to persuade and lobby," 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 support package. This follows our work to simplify licensing, keeping our reduction to alcohol duty on beer from the tap, and capping corporation tax," a official commented.

The landlords, on the other hand, are in no mood to back down, even if losing MPs