'Not Welcome!': Labour's Clash with Local Inns Signals a New Year Challenge.

Elected representatives heading back to their constituencies this end of the week might breathe a sigh of relief as a hectic parliamentary session wraps up. Yet, for those planning to visit their community tavern for a casual beer, holiday spirit could be scarce. In fact, some may discover they are not allowed through the door.

Over the past few weeks, establishments across the country have been posting signs that proclaim "No Labour MPs" in demonstration to adjustments in commercial property taxes unveiled by the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, in her most recent budget.

This movement results in one fewer retreat for many Labour MPs seeking solace from the harsh truth of their public disapproval. Representatives now report frequent antagonism in public spaces after a difficult first year and a half that has seen the approval numbers drop sharply from around 34% to roughly 18%.

"It is difficult being the MP of the constituency you have always lived in," commented one. "That pub is where we used to go with the kids and just be a ordinary family. But the past occasions we've just ended up being confronted by other drinkers. Now I'm not even sure we'll be able to enter."

This palpable disappointment is clear in a recent video by Tom Hayes, the Labour MP for Bournemouth East, lamenting being barred from one of his local pubs, the Larderhouse.

"It's meant to be a time of joy," he noted. "But the Larderhouse and other businesses with a 'MPs Not Welcome' notice in the window, they are eroding the community spirit that business owners have helped to nourish." He added, "Politics must be kept politics off the high street full stop, but particularly at Christmas."

'Pubs Have a Special Place in the Public Consciousness

After a challenging period marked by high costs, the COVID-19 crisis, and changing habits, licensees were anticipating the budget might bring some support—particularly through a much-anticipated reform of the commercial tax system.

But the chancellor disappointed those hopes, keeping the system unreformed and opting rather to reduce the multiplier and allocate £4.3bn over three years in funding for the retail and hospitality sectors.

While perhaps a supportive move, the benefit of that funding pledge 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 increase by more than double for the average hotel and over three-quarters for a pub, compared with just 4% for big grocery chains and 7% for distribution warehouses. Whitbread, which owns multiple brands, states it will face an additional tax bill of between £40m and £50m as a result.

Joe Butler, the landlord at the Tollemache Arms in Northamptonshire, said: "Virtually instantly, the worth of our business has increased twofold. That's going to be a massive rise for us."

This financial strain on publicans is inevitably reflected in the price of a customer's pint.

"The price of a pint is now prohibitively expensive. When we first became landlords 10 years ago, we charged £3.40 a pint. We're now approaching £7 a pint," Butler added.

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

"To create the most damaging financial plan for pubs and consumers, you would have come close to what we saw," said Ash Corbett-Collins, the chair of Camra, the consumer organisation.

A number within the Labour party believe this is a battle they ought to have avoided, not least because of the central role the neighborhood inn holds in national life.

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 offer relief but then they get slapped with this revaluation. We can't have rates being reduced for big corporations but increasing for independent businesses."

Observers highlight that Keir Starmer himself has often been a regular at his local, the Pineapple in north London, and frequently speaks of their value to local communities. "There's nothing any of us like better than going to the local for a pint, myself included," the prime minister said in February.

However pollsters liken picking a fight with publicans to doing so with NHS workers in terms of political risk.

Joe Twyman, director of the public opinion consultancy Deltapoll, explained: "From the Queen Vic to the Rovers Return, pubs have a special place in the public imagination.

"To a lot of individuals the local pub is perceived to be an important part of the locality, even if a good proportion of those same people will rarely actually drink there.

"The political risk with antagonising pubs is that your political rivals will quickly accuse you of undermining the core of this country and its history, particularly in rural areas. And they will be able to produce many powerful examples to drive the message home."

'Not a Personal Vendetta'

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

His campaign has been backed by a number of well-known figures, including broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson, who runs a pub called the Farmer's Dog, and singer Rick Astley, who part-owns a brewpub in north London—though the latter has clarified he will not refuse service to Labour MPs.

"We have been asking for relief for a considerable period," explained Lennox, who is advocating for a short-term VAT reduction. "The Treasury is presenting this as a relief package but that's not what people are experiencing, and that is the thing that has frustrated so many people."

Some within the hospitality trade think a campaign targeting individual politicians is could be counterproductive. "I doubt it's a good idea to ban the exact people we should be trying to engage with and lobby," commented Corbett-Collins.

When questioned this week, the Treasury pointed to the assistance being offered to hospitality. "We're protecting pubs, restaurants and cafes with the budget's £4.3bn support package. This is in addition to our efforts to simplify licensing, keeping our cut to alcohol duty on draught pints, and capping corporation tax," a official said.

The business owners, nevertheless, are in little mood to yield, even if alienating MPs