“Our clientele seems quite happy with the ban,” the landlord said as ‘No Labour MPs’ signs go up in pubs across the country.
Rachel Reeves has been barred from the Marsh Inn in her constituency over her business tax hike (Image: Getty)
The landlord of Rachel Reeves’ ‘local pub’ has barred the Chancellor over her controversial increases to business rates. Martin Knowles, of the Marsh Inn in Ms Reeves’ Leeds constituency, said Ms Reeves and all other Labour MPs have been banned from the premises.
He said “they are not doing our industry any favours at all”, adding: “Our clientele seems quite happy with the ban.” Landlords across the country have been left facing a surge in business rates next year following Ms Reeves’ Budget last month. Many pubs have already been pushed to the brink following increases to the national minimum wage and National Insurance contributions which have also hammered other businesses across different sectors.
Pubs are facing a surge in business rates from April following Rachel Reeves’ Budget (Image: Getty)
Mr Knowles told the Daily Mail that Ms Reeves would only be allowed to return to his pub if she lowered VAT and PAYE, stopped increasing the minimum wage and stopped business rates going “through the roof”.
His wife Melanie added the Chancellor “won’t get through the door again”, saying: “Every single day is a struggle for us.”
She also told the newspaper about how the cost of living is also playing its part, with customers having less money to spend on socialising.
Ms Reeves previously visited the Yorkshire pub in July last year, shortly after entering the Treasury, and was photographed with Mr Knowles.
The landlord, who has now erected a ‘No Labour MPs’ sign, says he will be stung with a £2,500 hike in business rates following the Chancellor’s announcement in November.
Increases to business rates will see a typical pub’s taxes double by 2029, per the Mail.
It is reported almost three pubs a week went bust in the six months to October, an 85% increase on the same period last year.
‘No Labour MPs’ signs have gone up in pubs across the country — including Jeremy Clarkson’s The Farmer’s Dog in the Cotswolds — in recent weeks in response to the business rates hike.
The trend was referenced by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch during Wednesday’s PMQs where she claimed Labour MPs “have got nowhere to drown their sorrows”.
In a spiky exchange, she described Sir Keir Starmer as “an undertaker prime minister” for his record on the economy.
The Treasury declined to comment on Ms Reeves being barred from her constituency local, according to the Mail.
However, a department spokesman said: “We’re protecting pubs, restaurants and cafes with the Budget’s £4.3 billion support package.
“This comes on top of our efforts to ease licensing to help more venues offer pavement drinks and put on one-off events, maintaining our cut to alcohol duty on draught pints, and capping Corporation Tax.”
