UK chancellor of exchequer banned from her favorite pub due to tax increases

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has been barred from her local pub because of her crippling tax rises bringing the hospitality industry to its knees, Report informs referring to Daily Mail.

Landlord Martin Knowles has told the Chancellor not to try to enjoy a festive pint in the Marsh Inn in her Leeds constituency after he was hit with a £2,500 hike in business rates.

The Chancellor posed with Mr Knowles in his pub last July, soon after she took over at the Treasury following Labour's election victory, but now the publican has put up a sign making clear that all Labour MPs, including Ms Reeves, are not welcome on his premises.

He said: 'I thought I'd ban them all, including the local MP, as they are not doing our industry any favours at all. Our clientele seem quite happy with the ban.'

Spiralling National Insurance costs and a hike in the minimum wage imposed by Ms Reeves have also helped drive hundreds of pubs to the brink.

Despite the crippling effect of her tax rises across the economy, the Chancellor this weekend declared that she could not rule out further tax rises in 2026.

Hospitality bosses have borne the brunt of her policies, especially business rate hikes which will see a typical pub's taxes doubling by 2029.

Nearly three pubs a week went bust in the six months to October – an 85 percent increase on the same period in 2024 – and it has been estimated that a further 2,000 could be forced to close next year unless the Government changes course.

Mr Knowles said that if Ms Reeves was to be allowed back into his pub, she needed to lower VAT and PAYE, stop increasing the minimum wage and stop business rates going 'through the roof.'

He joins hundreds of landlords across the country banning Labour MPs over the damage they are wreaking to their business.