'Entry Denied!': The Government's Clash with Local Inns Promises a New Year Challenge.

Labour MPs visiting their home districts this weekend might breathe a sigh of relief as a turbulent political term wraps up. Yet, for those hoping to stop by their community tavern for a casual pint, holiday spirit could be scarce. In fact, some may realize they are unwelcome inside.

In recent weeks, establishments across the country have been putting up signs that proclaim "MPs Barred" in objection to changes in commercial property taxes revealed by the Finance Minister, Rachel Reeves, in her autumn budget.

This protest translates to one fewer haven for many government backbenchers seeking solace from the difficult situation of their party's unpopularity. Backbenchers now say frequent antagonism in community settings after a rocky 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 area you have always lived in," said one. "That pub is where we would go with the kids and just be a ordinary family. But the past occasions we've just ended up being verbally abused by other patrons. Now I'm not even sure we'll be able to get in."

This sense of dismay is visible in a online clip by Tom Hayes, the Labour MP for Bournemouth East, addressing being barred from one of his local pubs, the Larderhouse.

"It's meant to be a time of joy," he stated. "Yet the Larderhouse and other businesses with a 'MPs Not Welcome' sticker in the window, they are undermining the welcoming atmosphere that local entrepreneurs have helped to cultivate." He went on, "We have to get politics off the main street altogether, but above all at Christmas."

'Pubs Have a Special Place in the National Identity

After a challenging period marked by economic pressures, the pandemic, and evolving social trends, landlords were anticipating the chancellor's statement might bring some relief—specifically through a long-promised overhaul of the commercial tax system.

However the chancellor disappointed those hopes, keeping the system unreformed and opting rather to lower headline rates and commit £4.3bn over three years in funding for the shops, pubs, and restaurants sectors.

While perhaps a gesture of goodwill, the impact of that support package has been overshadowed by the effect of a three-yearly property revaluation, which has caused the taxable value of hospitality venues to spike from their Covid-affected lows.

Starting from next April, rates are set to jump by 115% for the average hotel and over three-quarters for a public house, versus just four percent for large supermarkets and 7% for logistics centres. A major hospitality group, which operates pubs, restaurants and the Premier Inn hotel chain, states it will face an extra tax bill of between £40m and £50m as a result.

Joe Butler, the publican at the Tollemache Arms in Northamptonshire, commented: "With the click of a finger, the valuation of our business has increased twofold. That's going to be a significant burden for us."

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

"A pint of beer is now unaffordable. When we first became landlords 10 years ago, we charged £3.40 a pint. We're now approaching £7 a pint," Butler said.

Simultaneously, Covid-era tax discounts are being phased out, while sector businesses are still absorbing rises in national insurance and the living wage from last year's budget.

"If you tried to design the least helpful financial plan for pubs and consumers, you couldn't have done much worse than what came out," remarked Ash Corbett-Collins, the chairperson of Camra, the consumer organisation.

Many within the governing party think this is a fight they ought to have avoided, not least because of the central place the local pub plays in society.

Richard Quigley, the MP for the Isle of Wight West, who also operates a chip shop on the island, argued: "We said for two years to pubs and hospitality businesses that we are going to provide support but then they get slapped with this new assessment. We can't have rates going down for large multinational companies but increasing for local venues."

Some highlight that Keir Starmer himself has long been a regular at his local pub, the Pineapple in north London, and often references their significance to local communities. "There's nothing any of us like better than going to the pub for a drink, myself included," the prime minister said in February.

But pollsters compare confronting pub owners to taking on NHS workers in terms of political risk.

Joe Twyman, co-founder of the public opinion consultancy Deltapoll, said: "In fiction and in fact, pubs have a cherished status in the public imagination.

"To a lot of individuals the local pub is regarded as an important part of the locality, even if a large segment of those same people will rarely actually drink there.

"The hazard with making an enemy of pubs is that your political rivals will quickly accuse you of assaulting the foundation of this country and its history, particularly in rural areas. And they will be able to produce many heartfelt examples to prove their point."

'A Matter of Principle'

One such example is Andy Lennox, the publican at the Old Thatch pub in Wimborne, Dorset, and the organiser of the "MPs Barred" initiative. Lennox states he has distributed notices to nearly 1,000 venues and is dispatching 100 more every day.

His campaign has been backed by several 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 indicated he will not formally bar Labour MPs.

"We have long sought help for a very long time," said Lennox, who is calling for a temporary VAT reduction. "Ministers is presenting this as a support measure but that's not what people are seeing, and that is the thing that has aggrieved so many people."

Some within the sector think a protest banning individual Labour MPs is could be counterproductive. "I'm not sure it's a effective strategy to ban the precise representatives we should be trying to persuade and speak to," argued Corbett-Collins.

When questioned this week, the Treasury spoke of the support being provided to the sector. "We are supporting the hospitality industry with the budget's £4.3bn support package. This comes on top of our work to ease licensing, maintaining our cut to alcohol duty on beer from the tap, and capping corporation tax," a representative commented.

The publicans, nevertheless, are in little mood to yield, even if losing MPs