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11:26 24.12.2025 •
Pubs putting up a sign banning Labour MPs
Photo: ITV News
Rachel Reeves has been barred from her local pub because of her crippling tax rises bringing the hospitality industry to its knees, ‘The Daily Mail’ writes.
Landlord Martin Knowles has told the Chancellor not to try to enjoy a festive pint in the Marsh Inn in her Leeds constituency after he was hit with a £2,500 hike in business rates.
The Marsh Inn, in Pudsey, Leeds now has a sign up which makes clear that all Labour MPs are not welcome
The Chancellor posed with Mr Knowles in his pub last July, soon after she took over at the Treasury following Labour's election victory, but now the publican has put up a sign making clear that all Labour MPs, including Ms Reeves, are not welcome on his premises.
He said: 'I thought I'd ban them all, including the local MP, as they are not doing our industry any favours at all. Our clientele seem quite happy with the ban.'
Spiralling National Insurance costs and a hike in the minimum wage imposed by Ms Reeves have also helped drive hundreds of pubs to the brink.
Despite the crippling effect of her tax rises across the economy, the Chancellor this weekend declared that she could not rule out further tax rises in 2026.
Hospitality bosses have borne the brunt of her policies, especially business rate hikes which will see a typical pub's taxes doubling by 2029.
Nearly three pubs a week went bust in the six months to October – an 85 per cent increase on the same period in 2024 – and it has been estimated that a further 2,000 could be forced to close next year unless the Government changes course.
Mr Knowles said that if Ms Reeves was to be allowed back into his pub, she needed to lower VAT and PAYE, stop increasing the minimum wage and stop business rates going 'through the roof'.
He joins hundreds of landlords across the country banning Labour MPs over the damage they are wreaking to their business.
Among them are TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson who displays the 'No Labour MPs' sign at his Cotswolds pub The Farmer's Dog.
Jeremy Clarkson in his pub The Farmer’s Dog
Photo: PA Media
“Sir Keir Starmer would not be welcome in my pub”
Jeremy Clarkson has joined hundreds of landlords in banning Labour MPs from his pub in response to Rachel Reeves’ Budget.
The TV presenter said Sir Keir Starmer would not be welcome in his pub when it opened last year, but he has since extended the ban to all Labour MPs after his annual business rates bill soared from £28,000 to over £50,000.
The ban is an extension of the ”#taxedout” campaign launched by UK Hospitality, ‘The Independent’ writes.
Allen Simpson, chief executive of UK Hospitality, warned that the average pub will in fact see its business rates go up by 76 per cent following the chancellor’s changes.
He said: “We will see business losses and closures."
It also comes amid anger over the hike in employer contributions to national insurance in Ms Reeves’ first Budget, two consecutive inflation-busting increases in the minimum and living wages.
Added to that, some, like the former Top Gear presenter, are furious over the “family farm tax” extending inheritance tax to farms for the first time.
The Three Colts pub in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, also posted a picture of a “No Labour MPs” being shared by the campaign, saying: “After that horrendous Budget and the blatant lies on Business rates, we are joining pubs up and down the country.”
Steve Perez, a hospitality owner and former CBI Entrepreneur of the Year, told GB News: “We’re taxed out! You can’t continue to tax this industry over and over again!”
The Wonky Table, which represents more than 1,000 hospitality businesses, posted pictures of the “No Labour MPs” sign, adding: “Labour have taxed us into oblivion in two consecutive budgets. We’ve tried to engage; we’ve tried to explain. They are just not listening, so until they do, we’re not serving.”
Unhappy Christmas…
With at least 250 pubs taking part in the campaign, Bournemouth East’s Labour MP Tom Hayes posted a video reacting against the “No Labour MPs”.
He said: “It’s the Christmas season, it’s meant to be the joyful season, but the Larder House and other businesses with a “no Labour MPs” sticker in the window are undermining the inclusive culture that business owners locally have helped to nourish.
“My job has just got a million times harder because I can’t go and bang the drum for businesses with the Chancellor if I can’t speak to business owners because they’re banning me from doing so.”
Supporting the campaign and sharing a video promoting the ban on Labour MPs, Steve Alton, a member of the Hospitality Sector Council, said: “Pubs and hospitality operators are being pushed to the brink by unfair taxes. Our members’ insight shows that less than 1 in 10 will be profitable following yet more taxes from the budget, including Business Rates bills going up despite government promises. Urgent action is needed.”
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