Pubs given support package after business rates backlash

Entertainment / Wed 28th Jan 2026 at 07:25am

PUBS and music venues in England will be given a 15% discount on their business rates bills from April and will not see increases for two years, the government has announced reports the BBC.

Treasury Minister Dan Tomlinson said the three-year package would be worth £1,650 for the average pub in 2026-27.

It comes after a backlash against November’s Budget, which left many facing major increases in their business rates bills, and led to more than a thousand pubs banning Labour MPs from their premises.

Click below for full story.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c78vqj99168o

3 Comments for Pubs given support package after business rates backlash:

Adam

2026-01-28 08:43:22

this shows the insanity of governments and this government in particular. They have raised the costs of everything from business rates, to employment costs and overheads. This is having a terrible impact on hospitality and they are going bust, government then panics as its actions caused this (to be fair the cons did not help either). So they introduce measures to help and make it look like they are being helpful and kind, those measure do nothing really. when they are the ones who caused the issues in the first place. which is not surprising as none of the government has ever had a real job or created a business. we are led by morons, politicians destroy everything they touch.

Brian Ashton

2026-01-28 08:55:25

Everyone seems to have missed the point. If Joe public doesn't have much money due to the high cost of living, then they won't be able to afford to go to the pub. So no matter how much relief is offered, if people can't afford to go out to pubs, the won't make any money anyway

Mr George

2026-01-28 10:48:24

People have stopped going to the pub since covid. It's noticeably quieter I have found when I pop in, even at the weekend. Cost of living and being cheaper to drink at home or around friends is playing a bigger part of the change. Was in the news yesterday that also fewer people are drinking these days through various reasons including cost and health. Youngsters too are not going to the pubs like we used to because it's so expensive and there is also a shift in attitude with them, one of the main reasons night clubs have been closing for years too. I last heard about a third of them have closed down in the last 5 years.. This trend has little to do with Labour Adam because this started way before they had a sniff of getting in and yes, they are making mistakes but at least they're also trying to put some of those right. Something I never saw after 14 years of tory destruction.