Owners of cafes, pubs, bars and restaurants have warned the government that they will ban all MPs who do not support a cut to their VAT bill if it does not engage with the sector over its demands.
Andy Lennox, who organised a pub ban on Labour MPs following last year’s Budget, said: “If MPs want to stand behind our bars for the cameras, they need to stand up for us in Parliament.”
The ban, which will begin in March next year, will target all 320 MPs who have not publicly expressed their support for halving VAT for hospitality businesses to 10 per cent.
Hospitality firms in 88 constituencies have signed up to bar their MPs since the campaign was launched on Wednesday morning. These include Stalybridge and Hyde, the constituency of business secretary Jonathan Reynolds, and Richmond and Northallerton, where former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is the MP.
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SUBSCRIBE HERELennox said he hopes all 320 MPs will be banned from establishments in their constituencies by the time the campaign comes into effect.
The action is being organised by campaign group Hospitality Voices, which represents more than 10,000 businesses in the sector. They have told the government they will ditch the ban if it secures a House of Commons vote on a VAT cut and a televised debate about the pressures facing hospitality.
MPs should ‘stand up for their constituencies’
Lennox said: “We are launching this action because support for hospitality needs to translate into votes in Parliament. Our ask is simple: back an emergency cut in hospitality VAT, support a private member’s bill and help bring it to a vote. Hospitality is built on welcoming people.
“We would be delighted if this ban never needed to take effect. MPs of every party have an opportunity to make it unnecessary by standing up for the businesses and jobs in their constituencies.”
But John Healey opted not to heed these calls at last month’s Budget. Instead, he confirmed an already-announced 20 per cent cut to pubs’ business rates and hiked alcohol duty by 2p on every pint.
Last December, pub landlords’ decision to ban Labour MPs from their premises eventually resulted in a £300m business rates relief package being handed out by then-Chancellor Rachel Reeves.