Speaking at Treasury Questions in the House of Commons, James Wild MP has challenged the Chancellor over her broken promise to support hospitality businesses, highlighting her business rates policies are damaging pubs, hotels, cafés, music venues and restaurants across the country.
As a Shadow Treasury Minister, James challenged the Chancellor over the government's failure to address the crisis across the entire hospitality sector, pressing her on why it was ignored without any relief despite facing identical business rates pressures.
The Chancellor's Autumn Budget promised hospitality a "new golden age," yet her policies have increased business rates dramatically for the entire sector.
The government removed the business rates discount for hospitality businesses put it in place and its new system combined with revaluation of premises has seen pubs face average increases of £12,900 over three years and hotels £28,900 in 2026 alone.
Speaking in the House of Commons, James Wild MP said:
"The Chancellor promised hospitality firms that she would lower their taxes, but her business rate raid is hammering every town, village, city and high street. This is not just an attack on pubs; hotels, cafés, music venues and many more are being hit.
“It is two months since the Budget caused huge worry for these businesses, and we await details of this latest U-turn, but the key question is: does the Chancellor get it? Does she get that it is not just pubs but hospitality, leisure and retail businesses that need support because of her terrible choices?"
The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Dan Tomlinson MP, said:
"Conservative Members do not get it, because when they were in government, they set out plans to remove the temporary pandemic rates relief overnight in 2025. That would have seen an increase of 300% in business rate bills overnight for businesses on the high street. We have taken a different, fairer and more proportional approach, phasing out the pandemic relief over a slower time period and extending it into this year."
