How Tories can be the toast of your local pub

UBS are the beating heart of communities across the country.

- By Andrew Griffith

Labour is 'waging war' on pubs, despite the fact they are the heart of many communities

From the rural inn to the street-corner watering hole, our boozers are so much more than just a place to drink.It’s bad news for all of us, then, that this Labour government is waging a brutal war against them.

First came the Jobs Tax. Rachel Reeves made it £800 more expensive to employ a single worker by raising employer national insurance contributions in her first Budget. Predictably, firms stopped hiring and started firing, and unemployment went up. Pubs and other hospitality, retail and leisure businesses were especially hard hit.

At the same time, pubs and other high street firms have suffered the impact of rising energy bills, fuelled by Labour's net zero obsession.

Then, at Reeves’s most recent Budget, it looked like there might be some hope. She said she was delivering permanently lower business rates and helping businesses in the process.