Gregory has warned in Parliament that pubs and restaurants are being driven to the brink by Labour’s approach to taxation and regulation. Speaking in a Commons debate on the future of the sector, he said:
“Hospitality has been battered by a perfect storm of punishing taxation, regulation and soaring operational costs, which has left pubs and restaurants fighting for survival. Everywhere I go, the story is the same: rising costs, thinning margins and landlords asking, ‘How much longer can we keep the lights on?’”
Gregory drew on recent visits to pubs across his constituency, explaining that of the 55 pubs locally he has already visited 36. He said he hears the same message time and again - businesses stretched to breaking point. Four pubs have already closed over the last year, including the Wheatsheaf Inn in Grayswood, while others are hanging on.
The pressures come from both national and local decisions. Gregory told MPs:
“From April this year, relief collapsed to 40 per cent, halving their protection while doubling their pain. The Budget hiked national insurance, increased the minimum wage and added £3 billion to their bills. The Chancellor’s 1p off a draught pint gesture was not just laughable but insulting.”
“On a £5.50 pint, pubs make about 8p. That is the future that Labour is offering.”
Gregory also criticised the Liberal Democrat-run Waverley Borough Council for failing to use its powers to support local businesses during major infrastructure works in Farnham. He said:
“Borelli’s Wine Bar and Grill, for example, has operated since 1987, yet the Lib Dems sit on their hands, proving that they share Labour’s contempt for small businesses.”
Concluding, he warned:
“Hospitality is being taxed, squeezed and regulated into oblivion. If Labour carries on like this, the last orders bell will ring not just for our pubs, but for the very character of British life itself.”
