A Hertfordshire pub landlord has installed a fake beer tap behind his bar to protest what he described as damaging tax policies introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, which he believes are hitting the hospitality industry.
Chris Ghazarian, who runs The Green Dragon in the village of Flaunden in Hertfordshire, created the spoof pump labelled “Rachel Thieves” as a visual statement highlighting rising costs faced by pubs.
The 36‑year‑old said the fictional drink was intended to reflect the impact of tax increases on businesses across the sector.
He told customers if the pint existed it would be very bitter, not very pleasant, and the most expensive drink available in the pub.
Anyone who asks to order it is served water, and customers are not charged.
The pump clip includes a warning where the alcohol percentage would normally appear.
Mr Ghazarian told The Telegraph: “The majority of pump clips have the alcohol percentage on them, and when you are dealing with the Chancellor, percentages are a big thing, but the fact there are no certainties with her, I thought I would put on, ‘The per cent may go up at any point’.”
He said the stunt has been well-received by customers. “They find it hilarious, and I obviously do not make them pay for it,” Mr Ghazarian said. He repeated that the imaginary drink would be the most expensive on the bar if it were real.
A Hertfordshire pub landlord has slammed the Chancellor for hiking taxes and business rates
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The protest comes amid rising business costs for hospitality venues following changes to business rates. Mr Ghazarian said the pub’s property valuation had increased by 66 per cent, rising from £26,500 to £44,000.
Mr Ghazarian said this means he will still be paying thousands of pounds more in business rates despite government relief measures.
The Chancellor announced a 15 per cent discount on business rates for one year, followed by a two‑year freeze.
Mr Ghazarian said the measures did not go far enough to offset rising costs and had caused confusion among customers.
The Tories have said Rachel Reeves’s latest pub support package is a ‘sticking plaster’ over their wider range of measures
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GETTY
“I had a lot of my customers saying to me, ‘I thought there was going to be 15 per cent off the price of my pint’, and I had to explain that my business rates were still going up, I was just getting 15 per cent off what they could have been,” he said.
Mr Ghazarian said the Government was placing increasing pressure on businesses while promoting an agenda of economic growth.
He warned rising costs could trigger a damaging cycle for pubs, with suppliers increasing prices, pubs passing those costs on, and customers eventually refusing to pay.
He said reduced footfall would lead to job losses and further financial strain across the sector. He called for VAT reductions for hospitality businesses and reform of the business rates system.
The Green Dragon, Flaunden
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The Green Dragon
Mr Ghazarian said the fake beer tap was designed to spark conversation as well as provide humour. “The pump clip voices our opinion in a pint‑sized format, everyone notices it, agrees and has a little laugh, and it is a way for me to voice my thoughts and how I feel about what is going on at the moment,” he said.
He has held the tenancy at The Green Dragon since 2019 and lives at the pub with his family, and has an 18‑month‑old child and another baby due.
“At the minute we are okay, but with what might come next I do not have much confidence at all,” he said. “I want to keep the pub open, but if customers stop coming and the taxes are too high, it is only going to end one way. Pubs are going to close, and I just hope it is not us.”
A Treasury spokesman said the Government was supporting hospitality businesses through measures including the 15 per cent business rates discount, extended World Cup opening hours and a £10million Hospitality Support Fund.