‘The government needs to take us seriously’: Pub landlords brew plans to bar MPs – again

Pub landlords across the country are poised to launch a fresh ban on hundreds of MPs after a campaign to cut VAT on hospitality fell on deaf ears in the House of Commons. Andy Lennox, who led a ban on Labour MPs following the surge in business rates bills caused by last year’s Budget, told City AM landlords are on the verge of launching a new movement to bar politicians. He said any new action, which would include thousands of pubs across the UK, would ban every MP who has not shown public support to a cut for VAT for hospitality firms.

Lennox said: ”There is so much anger out in the industry at the moment and following the Budget there have been a number of comments made by Treasury ministers and actions by the Chancellor that just show there is zero respect for our industry and for what we do.” Pub, bar and restaurant bosses had been urging the government to halve VAT to 10 per cent in a campaign led by celebrity chef Tom Kerridge. But John Healey opted not to heed these calls at last week’s Budget.

Instead, he confirmed an already-announced 20 per cent cut to pubs’ business rates and hiked alcohol duty by 2p on every pint. Lennox added: “The government needs to take us seriously and seemingly lobbying MPs and having the support for a VAT cut line with Europe of nearly 300 of them isn’t cutting through – further action is required.” 354 MPs could be barred If Hospitality Voices, the group of pub landlords led by Lennox, goes ahead with a new ban, 354 MPs could find themselves barred from their local.

The group’s tracker shows that these hundreds of MPs, including Andy Burnham and John Healey, have failed to back a cut to VAT while 296 have shown support. The hospitality sector’s anger towards the Labour government was further fuelled over the weekend, when Treasury minister Emma Reynolds said that employers are “not working people” as she tried to justify tax hikes. Lennox, who runs several pubs in Dorset and Hampshire, said: “Emma Reynolds’ comments are an insult to everyone who has built a business and created jobs.

If this is how the Treasury sees employers, it explains its extraordinary disconnect from business.” Pub bosses will decide next week whether to launch a new ban on MPs. It is hoped that this new campaign could garner more bipartisan support because it is not targeted at one political party. Last December, pub landlords’ decision to ban Labour MPs from their premises eventually resulted in a £300m business rates relief package being handed out by then-Chancellor Rachel Reeves.