PROTECT OUR PUBS: Demand Fair Taxation & Digital Support for Our Locals
To: Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer

Six pubs close every week. 82,000 hospitality jobs lost last year. This stops now.

📉 THE CRISIS IN NUMBERS
October 2024 Budget: £3.4bn in new costs dumped on hospitality
Business rates: Up 140% per pub
The tax take: For every £3 you spend, £1 goes to government
UK pubs pay 20% VAT | France & Spain: 10% | Germany: 7%
Over 300 pubs closed in 2024 alone. These aren't failing businesses—they're profitable locals crushed by unfair policy.

 
🚫 THE HIDDEN PROBLEM
Pubs struggle to compete in the digital age without government support. While European competitors benefit from lower taxes AND better infrastructure, UK pubs face both higher costs and fewer resources to reach customers online.

 
✊ WHAT WE'RE DEMANDING
IMMEDIATE RELIEF:

❌ Reverse National Insurance increases
🛡️ Restore 75% business rates relief
LONG-TERM REFORM:

💰 Cut hospitality VAT to 10% (matching Europe)
📊 Deliver business rates reform
💻 Support digital infrastructure for all pubs
📚 Provide resources and training for online success
🤝 Enable knowledge sharing across the industry
🏘️ Support community-owned pubs through dormant assets funding
 
💔 WHAT'S AT STAKE
When a pub closes:

15 jobs vanish
Local suppliers lose business
Musicians lose venues
Communities lose their heart
This isn't market failure. This is policy failure.

 
📢 THE PUBLIC AGREES
79% of British and Irish people support reducing hospitality VAT.

The November 2025 Budget is our moment to act.

 
🏛️ WHO NEEDS TO HEAR THIS
We're calling on:

Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer - to deliver fair taxation in the November 2025 Budget
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Pubs and its members - to champion these reforms in Parliament
Our local MPs Matt Western and Sir Jeremy Wright - to represent our communities
The Treasury and Department for Business and Trade - to support digital infrastructure for pubs
 
✍️ SIGN NOW
Demand the government protects our pubs with fair taxation AND the support they need to survive.