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Stuart Anderson MP said:
"I am devastated that one pub a day closed permanently in England and Wales in 2025. The data shows that 366 pubs have been demolished or converted for other uses this year as cost pressures take toll on sector. The multi-billion pound hike in business rates that was announced at the 2025 Autumn Budget will inflict further harm on businesses, including our pubs, hotels, shops, and restaurants, in South Shropshire.
The new discount on business rates will see retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses save just 5p for every £1 paid. This is only a quarter of the 20p discount that the government had legislated for. This does not offset the steep increases in rateable values that will take place in April.
It follows last year's decision to slash business rates for these sectors from 75% to just 40%, which will end in April 2026. Last year's reduction in business rates relief has meant that an average pub has already had to pay an extra three thousand pounds since April 2025.
Now, analysis from the trade body UKHospitality has shown that the average pub’s business rates, even with the reduced multiplier and transitional relief, will increase 15% next year – costing an extra £1,400. A hotel will be paying an extra £28,900 in business rates next year.
The transition relief will have almost entirely tapered away by 2028/29. By then, an average pub’s business rates will have increased by 76% (or £12,900) to £111,300. An average hotel’s business rates will have increased by 115% (or £65,000) to £205,200.
UKHospitality has warned that as many as 30,000 pubs, restaurants, and hotels in England could close due to these devastating changes. By contrast, savings identified by the Conservatives would have enabled us to end rates for 250,000 of these businesses altogether.
This would have enabled them to invest in better premises, more staff, and lower prices for customers. I believe that the changes must be scrapped. At the very least, the discount should be increased from 5p to 20p, as previously proposed."
Hospitality is the UK’s third-largest employer and accounts for 7% of GDP. The sector is largely made up of SMEs and supports 3.5 million jobs, while contributing £93 billion to the UK economy each year. This includes 166 local pubs and 4 breweries in South Shropshire. supporting 2,040 jobs and annually adding £63 million to the economy.
The British Beer and Pub Association said that the Chancellor’s business rates hike mean that 4,800 pubs will have to pay business rates for the first time, with pubs on average facing a 63 per cent rise in bills - equivalent to £6,000 more per year. The analysis by the BBPA has predicted that the rise could lead to the loss of 15,000 jobs.
Labour’s disastrous plans have also included:
- Excluding hospitality from the Government’s industrial strategy
- Slashing business rates relief for hospitality from 75% to 40%
- Raising employers’ National Insurance to 15%, while lowering the secondary threshold to £5,000
UKHospitality had warned that the sector would incur an extra £1 billion of costs for 774,000 of its workers from April 2025. As of that time, more businesses in the sector became eligible for employer's National Insurance Contributions (NICs). The change was announced by the Chancellor in the 2024 Autumn Budget. She said that the threshold at which employers start paying NICs will be reduced from £9,100 to £5,000-a-year. In November 2024, over 200 hospitality businesses warned that these changes would force some businesses to close while others will have to drastically reduce their headcount and scrap plans to invest in renovations. As reported by the Guardian in December, the number of pubs in England and Wales has fallen below 39,000 for first time.
