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jeremy clarkson have joined hundreds of landlords in banning Labor MPs from their pubs in response to Rachel Reeves’s budget.
The TV presenter said Sir Keir Starmer would not have been welcome in the pub when it opened last year, but has extended the ban to all Labor MPs after his annual business rates bill rose from £28,000 to more than £50,000.
The ban is an extension of the “#taxedout” campaign launched by UK Hospitality.
Alan Simpson, chief executive of UK Hospitality, warned that the average pub’s occupation rates will actually rise by 76 per cent following the Chancellor’s change.
He added: “We will see trade losses and closures.”
It also comes amid anger over increases in employer contributions to National Insurance in Ms Reeves’ first budget, two consecutive inflationary rises in the minimum and living wages.
Additionally some, such as the former Top Gear presenter, are angry at the “Family Farm Tax” extending inheritance tax on farms for the first time.
In a post on Twitter
“And not just because the Labor Party has now dismissed him.”
Mr Campbell Savors, MP for Penrith and Solway, was recently suspended from the Parliamentary Labor Party for voting against the Government on the family farming tax.
The Three Colts pub in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, also posted a photo of the “No Labor MP” being shared by the campaign, saying: “After that appalling budget and the blatant lies on business rates, we are joining pubs across the country.”
Hospitality owner and former CBI Entrepreneur of the Year Steve Perez tells gb news: “We’ve been taxed! You can’t keep taxing this industry over and over again!”
Andy Lennox, landlord of the Old Thatch, told the BBC: “Without this intervention pubs would face a 45% rise in bills next year. We’ve reduced it to just 4 per cent.”
“We have also retained draft beer duty cuts, eased licensing rules on sidewalk drinks and events, and capped corporation tax.
“These measures show we are supporting hospitality, not abandoning it.”
He added: “Everyone is fed up because the Labor government hasn’t listened to us and instead has imposed higher taxes on us.
“People are really angry that they’re being treated like they didn’t do it — it’s like someone pushed the wrong button and instead of taxing Amazon and the warehouses they’re taxing us.
“We have been pleading with our MPs for years because people are going out of business, and it’s not because their business is bad, but because they are being taxed into oblivion.”
The Wonky Table, which represents more than 1,000 hospitality businesses, posted pictures of a “No Labor MP” sign, saying: “Labour have thrashed us into oblivion over two budgets in a row. We’ve tried to engage; we’ve tried to explain. They’re just not listening, so until they do, we’re not being served.”
With at least 250 pubs taking part in the campaign, Tom Hayes, Labor MP for Bournemouth East, posted a video reacting against “No Labor MP”.
He said: “It’s the Christmas season, it means the season of joy, but Larder House and other businesses with “No Labor MP” stickers in the window are undermining the inclusive culture that business owners locally have helped to nurture.
“My job has become a million times harder because I can’t go to the Chancellor and bang the drum for businesses if I can’t talk to business owners because they’re banning me from doing that.”
But there are concerns among Labor MPs about the hospitality industry.
At Treasury questions, Labor Norwich South MP Clive Lewis raised concerns about a town which according to local legend had a pub every day of the year.
He said: “After this Budget, many pub landlords – small and medium-sized businesses – tell me that we are not going to go much further, and many of them will go under. They need more support, and they need it soon. If the changes go through, I fear that will not be the case in Norwich at all; we will hardly have any pubs.
“Can’t we put more of the burden on pub companies and large corporations, who must pay their fair share, rather than on small and medium-sized businesses and small pub landlords who cannot afford to pay the onus?
Supporting the campaign and sharing a video promoting a ban on Labor MPs, Steve Elton, member of the Hospitality Sector Council, said: “Pubs and hospitality operators are being pushed to the brink by unfair taxes. Insights from our members show that despite government promises less than 1 in 10 will be profitable after taxes over the budget, including the business rates bill. Urgent action is needed.”
Independent Comments have been sought from the government and the Labor Party.