'Not Welcome!': Labour's Dispute with Pubs Signals a New Year Headache.

Elected representatives heading back to their home districts this weekend might breathe a sigh of respite as a turbulent parliamentary session wraps up. However, for those hoping to frequent their neighborhood bar for a restorative beer, festive cheer could be scarce. In fact, some may discover they are unwelcome inside.

For weeks, establishments nationwide have been putting up signs that declare "Labour MPs Not Welcome" in protest to changes in commercial property taxes announced by the Finance Minister, Rachel Reeves, in her most recent financial statement.

This protest results in one fewer haven for many Labour MPs seeking solace from the bruising reality of their public disapproval. Backbenchers now say regular animosity in public spaces after a difficult first 18 months that has seen the party's ratings fall from around a third to roughly 18%.

"It is difficult being the representative of the constituency you have always lived in," commented one. "The local pub is where we used to go with the kids and just be a normal family. But the recent visits we've just ended up being confronted by other drinkers. Now I'm not even sure we'll be able to get in."

This palpable disappointment is visible in a social media post by Tom Hayes, the Member of Parliament for Bournemouth East, addressing being refused entry to one of his regular haunts, the Larderhouse.

"It's the Christmas season," he said. "Yet the Larderhouse and other establishments with a 'MPs Not Welcome' notice in the window, they are undermining the community spirit that business owners have helped to nourish." He went on, "Politics must be kept politics off the high street altogether, but especially at Christmas."

A Cherished Institution in the National Identity

After a challenging period marked by high costs, the pandemic, and changing habits, licensees were hopeful the budget might bring some support—particularly through a overdue reform of the business rates system.

Yet the chancellor poured cold water on those expectations, leaving the system largely unchanged and choosing instead to reduce the multiplier and commit £4.3bn over three years in financial support for the shops, pubs, and restaurants sectors.

While perhaps a positive step, the benefit of that support package has been minimized by the effect of a three-yearly property reassessment, which has caused the valuation of pubs and restaurants to increase sharply from their pandemic-era lows.

Starting from next April, rates are set to increase by more than double for the typical hotel and over three-quarters for a public house, versus just 4% for big grocery chains and 7% for logistics centres. A major hospitality group, which owns pubs, restaurants and the Premier Inn hotel chain, estimates it will face an extra tax bill of between £40m and £50m as a outcome.

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

This financial strain on business owners is directly reflected in the price of a punter's pint.

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

Simultaneously, Covid-era tax discounts are being phased out, while sector businesses are still coping with increases in employer contributions and the minimum wage from the previous budget.

"If you wanted to write the most damaging budget for the hospitality sector and its customers, you wouldn't have got far away from what we saw," remarked Ash Corbett-Collins, the chairperson of Camra, the campaign for real ale.

Many within the Labour party think this is a battle they could have sidestepped, not least because of the vital role the community pub plays in British culture.

Richard Quigley, the MP for the Isle of Wight West, who also runs a 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 affected by this new assessment. We can't have taxes being reduced for large multinational companies but increasing for local venues."

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

However pollsters liken picking a fight with pub owners to challenging NHS workers in terms of public perception.

Joe Twyman, co-founder of the public opinion consultancy Deltapoll, said: "In fiction and in fact, pubs have a unique position in the national consciousness.

"For many people the local pub is seen as an integral component of the community, even if a good proportion of those same people will rarely actually drink there.

"The hazard with antagonising pubs is that your political rivals will quickly accuse you of assaulting the foundation of this nation and its traditions, especially in the countryside. And they will be able to produce many powerful examples to make their case."

'Nothing Personal'

One such case is Andy Lennox, the publican at the Old Thatch pub in Wimborne, Dorset, and the organiser of the "No Labour MPs" initiative. Lennox says he has provided stickers to nearly 1,000 premises and is dispatching 100 more every day.

His action has been backed by several prominent figures, such as broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson, who runs a pub called the Farmer's Dog, and pop star Rick Astley, who has a stake in a bar in north London—although the latter has clarified he will not formally bar Labour MPs.

"We have long sought help for a very long time," stated Lennox, who is advocating for a short-term VAT reduction. "The Treasury is presenting this 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 banning individual Labour MPs is likely to backfire. "I'm not sure it's a effective strategy to ban the very individuals we should be trying to persuade and speak to," argued Corbett-Collins.

When pressed this week, the government department pointed to the assistance being made available to the sector. "We have aided pubs, restaurants and cafes with the budget's £4.3bn funding. This follows our efforts to ease licensing, maintaining our reduction to alcohol duty on draught pints, and capping corporation tax," a representative commented.

The business owners, however, are in no mood to back down, even if losing MPs