A pub is set to have closed its doors every day this year, as hospitality leaders say Andy Burnham’s tax cuts for hospitality have not gone far enough.
About 360 pubs are expected to have called last orders in the whole of 2026, with 295 watering holes having shut for good so far this year, according to research from the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA).
Andy Burnham has put support for pubs at the centre of his pledge to revive British high streets, but the industry body believes the Prime Minister still needs to tackle “the root of the problem”.
The loss of one pub for every day of this year will have cost about 5,000 jobs, the BBPA has found, with more than half of these workers being aged under 25.
The government could lose nearly £72m in tax receipts due to these closures because the typical pub contributes about £200,000 to the Treasury, the trade body said.
Last year, 336 pubs closed in the UK. Nearly 2,200 pubs have shut over the last five years.
The BBPA says Britain’s pubs are still recovering from last year’s Budget, when then-Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax raid piled an extra £322m in costs onto pubs and brewers.
Pubs demand more tax cuts
In one of his first acts as Prime Minister, Andy Burnham announced a 20 per cent cut to business rates for pubs, clubs and live music venues, which the BBPA said was “wholeheartedly welcome”.
Burnham said this policy is proof that his government will “back the businesses that people want to see in their communities” rather than standing by while “cherished venues have disappeared from our local high streets”.
In August, the Treasury launched a review of how business rates are calculated for pubs and hotels, which it is hoped will lower this tax burden even further.
But Emma McClarkin, the BBPA’s chief executive, urged the government to go further at this month’s Budget.
She said: “The Prime Minister has pledged that the cavalry is coming, which is why we’re asking [the] government to tackle the root of the problem through a permanently fair and sustainable rates burden, freezing beer duty, increasing draught relief and reviewing employment costs for under-25s.
“This will mean we can carry on keeping people in jobs, boosting the economy, and being at the heart of communities.”