Burnham pledges 20% business rates cut for pubs, bars and clubs
Andy Burnham, who is expected to take over as UK Prime Minister at the end of the month, will propose a 20% reduction on business rates for pubs, bars and nightclubs, offset by hiking rates for warehouses for online giants like Amazon.
Andy Burnham, currently MP for Makerfield in Wigan, Greater Manchester, is on track to take over from former UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer on 20 July.
Starmer, who announced his resignation on 22 June, triggering a contest for his replacement, has said he will give his successor his “full and unequivocal support, knowing that they will inherit a Britain that is far stronger and fairer than the one I inherited two years ago”.
Burnham announced on the same day Starmer stepped down that he would stand for Prime Minister. And as he is the only candidate in the leadership run he is widely expected to move into No. 10 Downing Street on 20 July.
Business rates
Speaking on LBC’s Tonight with Andrew Marr radio show last night, Burnham claimed he would cut the much-maligned business rates for pubs and bars by 20%, while leaning on warehouses to fund the tax cuts.
“I believe there is a case for higher business rates on warehouses and the major developments we see on the outskirts of our cities, so we can cut business rates for pubs – I proposed a 20% cut – and lift some high street businesses out of business rates altogether,” he said.
Burnham confirmed that he would uphold the promises made in the 2024 Labour manifesto not to raise VAT or national insurance.
“I stick by the manifesto and the promises that it made,” he said. “But there is some room within that manifesto for movement on tax.”
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According to Burnham, pubs, clubs and music venues would receive a 20% cut, while smaller, independent hospitality, leisure and retail companies would have the threshold for paying business rates raised for the first time since 2017.
Any cuts would be offset by higher levies placed on big warehouses operated by the likes of Amazon.
Financial strain
As db has reported, business rates are a major source of financial strain for UK pubs and indie drinks retailers, with widespread industry concern over closures and squeezed margins.
In January, a support package worth £100m, was pledged by the Chancellor after the government admitted it had not anticipated the financial impact of the changes to business rates announced in last November’s Budget. This change saw discounts on business rates that had been in force since the Covid-19 pandemic slashed from 75% to 40%, with no discount at all for hospitality operators from April 2026.
In real terms this meant that pubs across the UK were facing an average increase in business rates of 76% over the next three years, according to industry body UKHospitality.
MPs and leading voices from across the hospitality industry had called on Starmer to rethink the planned changes, so Burnham’s comments are likely to spark hope across the drinks trade.
Andy Slee, chief executive of SIBA said earlier this year: “At the heart of revitalising hospitality is a rebalancing of the tax burden between online and high street businesses and pubs”, adding that “a more equitable long-term solution” was needed “to allow pubs and independent brewers to thrive.”
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