PUB-GOERS face pricier pints as Labour’s tax raid is set to hit every boozer in the country, Tory analysis shows.
Their research reveals the 36,730 boozers across England are bracing for an average £5,500 extra a year in business rates.
Two pints of beer bitter on wooden barrel in London pub.Getty
The Sun’s Save our Sups campaign
And on top of that, the National Insurance hike will add £800 per worker, piling even more pressure on struggling landlords.
Furious Tories today launched a Save the Local campaign to stop “Labour’s all-out war on Britain’s pub”.
Shadow Communities Secretary Kevin Hollinrake told The Sun: “Labour’s war on pubs will load tens of thousands of extra costs onto pubs, raise the price of a pint, put jobs in jeopardy and put our pubs at risk of closure.
“This is why we’ve launched the Save your Local campaign.
“Pubs are at the heart of our towns and cities, and we must protect them from Keir ‘no beer’ Starmer.”
And Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith added: “The local is a great British institution, and Labour’s treatment of them shows how out of touch they are.
“By shackling them with tens of thousands of extra costs, banning banter and shrinking pints, they will send them into extinction.”
But the Chancellor insisted Labour will deliver targeted support, including an £85 million tax cut on draught pints and expanded relief for small brewers.
Ms Reeves told The Sun: “This weekend, two tax cuts will be coming in for the alcohol sector to help it grow too. Pints poured in pubs will see a 1p cut in alcohol duty – the first time we’ve had a duty cut on a pint of beer in 10 years, worth £85 million for pub-goers.
“By axing the red tape that has stifled the alcohol sector, more drinks from craft producers will be available in pubs and bars and craft brewers will also start seeing more tax savings for new drinks they innovate.”
A Treasury spokesperson also added: “Pubs feature at the heart of communities across the country. We’re standing behind them by cutting 1p off alcohol duty on draught pints from February, either fully protecting them or providing 40 per cent relief from business rates from April and ensuring smaller pubs either see a cut or no change in their National Insurance bills from April by more than doubling Employment Allowance.”
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