The landlords of Rachel Reeves’s local pub have declared a ban on the Chancellor and Labour MPs as a result of her tax-hiking Budget.
Speaking to GB News, the owners of The Marsh Inn in Pudsey told host Dawn Neesom they are being “pushed to the brink” by the soaring costs.
Martin and Melanie Knowles have hit out at the Chancellor’s policies announced in November’s statement, which have left them £2,500 worse off.
Revealing that Ms Reeves has visited their pub previously, Mr Knowles told GB News: “She is our local MP, and she’s been in the pub before around June, July time.”
Asked by Dawn why they are banning the Chancellor and fellow Labour MPs, he said: “Pubs are being pushed to brink by the Labour Government’s decisions.
“Business rates relief for pubs has been slashed from 75 per cent to 40 per cent, driving bills up by as much as 104 per cent for the average pub.
“That means rates jumping from around £4,000 to £10,000, which is at the time they’ve piled on extra costs through higher employee National Insurance, even higher energy bills making it more expensive to keep staff on and our doors open.
“National pubs are closing a rate of two a day, which is absolutely ridiculous when tens of thousands of hospitality jobs were already lost since the Budget.”
Taking aim at Labour’s “vague promises”, Mr Knowles added: “The Government talks about reforming business rates, but the remaining relief is due to expire altogether next year.
Furious pub landlords Martin and Melanie Knowles slammed the Chancellor over her ‘disgraceful’ rise in business rates
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GB News / PA
“Pub owners are being asked to survive on warm words and vague promises while facing yet another tax hike in practise.”
Admitting the hike in costs may result in them losing their pub and livelihood completely, the couple said: “There’s not much we can do, we won’t be able to carry on. We’ll have to walk away.
“Some weeks we’re not meeting our figures, we’re not breaking even. Every day is a struggle.”
Recounting the struggles of the covid pandemic, Mrs Knowles said: “We’re in our sixth year of trading.
“We took this pub through lockdowns, COVID, we traded for 10 days and they shut us down for six months.
Rachel Reeves has been barred from her local pub amid backlash over tax hikes hitting the hospitality industry
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PA“We reopened and we’ve run a very successful business. We have very loyal customers, but every day is just a struggle really.”
Asked by Dawn what it would mean for them if they were forced to walk away, the landlady told GB News: “Well, it would mean everything. It’s our life, it’s our business, we put everything into it.
“I’m the third generation in my family to be a publican and we absolutely love what we do. We’re like a community hub. We have really loyal, fantastic customers.
“We’re struggling to survive. It’s absolutely hard, really. It’s really sad. We’re good operators and we’re surrounded by other good operators, the pubs local to us. They’re all good operators, but they’ll say the same, every day is a struggle.”
Mr and Mrs Knowles hit out at Rachel Reeves for ‘targeting small businesses’
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GB NEWS
Criticising Rachel Reeves for targeting “small businesses” because they are an “easy target”, Mrs Knowles said: “She’s full of false promises isn’t she? When she came in, she said that she’d got things up a sleeve for us, but there’s been nothing.
“She’s not helped us in any way, not in any way.”
Mr Knowles added: “Rachel Reeves has never run a pub. She talks about tough choices, but she always chooses to squeeze small businesses because we’re an easy target, and that’s it about it.
“She’s ever run a business, has she? That’s the problem. She has no idea.”