Keir Starmer was taken to task by Conservative MP Matt Vickers at PMQs [Prime Minister’s Questions] over the plight of Britain’s watering holes.
In a feisty exchange, the Prime Minister was forced to defend Labour tax changes which Vickers says has forced the hands of many.
“Last week, I was talking to Jason, a pub landlord. He’s told me: ‘I’ve heard a rumour about the prime minister’”, Vickers told MPs.
“He’s heard that there’s a reason why the prime minister hates Britain’s pubs.
Keir Starmer clashed with the Tory MP
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“Landlords like Jason are being battered by Labour’s jobs tax and the slashing of small business rates relief.
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“It means half of Britain’s pubs could be closed by 2030. Why does he hate Britain’s pubs?
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Matt Vickers grilled the PM over the plight of Britain's watering holes
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“If he doesn’t, why is he taxing them all into oblivion?”
The prime minister responded by claiming “nobody likes pubs more than me”.
He continued: “We support them. It’s the same old nonsense. They [Conservatives] say they don’t want the National Insurance rise, but they don’t have the courage to say if they would reverse it.
“They know if they said that, they wouldn’t be able to say where the money would come from.
Rachel Reeves's decisions have drawn scorn from pub landlords
Parliament TV“That’s how we got into this problem in the first place.”
Rachel Reeves’s budget last year introduced hikes in national minimum wage, business rates and employers’ national insurance contributions.
Tim Martin, chairman of JD Wetherspoon, estimates the changes will increase his company’s costs by approximately £60 million annually.
He said supermarkets are also being allowed to undercut pub prices on beer as they pay no VAT on food sales while pubs are charged 20 per cent.
The Government’s decision not to extend relaxed licensing laws that permitted takeaway pints during the Covid pandemic was seen as another kick in the teeth for landlords.
Pubs will not incur additional fees for off-site alcohol sales, which has become regular practice for many establishments.
Industry experts fear the rapid rate of pubs closing across England and Wales and what impact it will ultimately have on the hospitality sector.
The Government remains stedfast in its approach, saying tough decisions were necessary to address a £22 billion deficit left by the previous Conservative administration.
Keir Starmer has pointed to investments in health, public services and housing as vital to the nation’s growth.
