There are some in the sector who feel its the wrong thing to do, that we shouldn’t be barring MPs but welcoming them in and maintaining dialogue.
Indeed, at the recent All Party Parliamentary Beer Group Christmas reception* this week, the chair, Tonia Antoniazzi and the small business minister Kate Dearden urged the industry to keep talking and maintain the dialogue with Government.
But there’s a simple retort to that. What’s that got us so far? We’ve been talking to this Government since day one and so far that’s achieved the square root of bugger all.
We’ve been hit with massively increased employment costs and National Insurance taxation and the final boot in the belly was the broken promises on business rates and the outright lies that they’ve done us all a favour and “lowered our taxes”. Reeves is now claiming she “misspoke” to the Treasury Committee this week when she said the average rise was 4%, as opposed to the more truthful 76%.
Oh wait, tell a lie (that’s the word you’re looking for Chancellor), they have done something for us, they have talked about amending the licensing rules so that we can all stay in the pub a bit later. Thanks for that Rach and the team.
Is anyone listening?
Talking is pointless when the people you’re talking to are refusing to listen.
So maybe now is the time for action?
If they can’t listen to us, let’s see how many MPs find their Christmas party plans turning to dust as they are turned away at the door.
Operators across the UK are raging - I’ve never seen the sector so angry and they feel powerless in the face of Government indifference.
So I don’t blame them for taking some direct action themselves, and maybe, just maybe, those MPs that find themselves persona non grata in their local watering holes might actual start asking questions of their own Government.
In the meantime, we can keep up those discussions with those ministers willing to listen, but maybe with a little extra pressure in the background.
At the moment, I’m not convinced their listening even now.
Lip service
There was a recent meeting between industry bosses and a senior member of the Treasury team - that’s hopefully a good thing, but I find it frustrating that we’re so easily placated by the arrival of a senior minister.
Many of those at the meeting expressed the view that it was good of him to come and listen. “He didn’t have to,” was the sentiment expressed.
I’m sorry, but from my point of view, that’s the very least he should be doing - we have to stop letting these people off the hook with the bare minimum of engagement.
We don’t want them to simply turn up, say they’ve heard us, and we go away happy.
We need them not to just listen - we need action.
Rachel Reeves stood at the dispatch box and said she’d listened to our industry - then hiked business rates by an average of 76%. That’s her listening…!
Let’s be honest. They are not listening, and they’re not acting, certainly not in any positive way.
Maybe a little taste of misery over the Christmas period as they are forced to press their noses up to the windows to witness the merriment they’re missing out on might focus a few minds.
It worked on Scrooge.
* It was interesting to see the dearth of Labour MPs attending the APPBG Christmas bash the other night - some might suggest there might be a collective sense of shame there, if indeed MPs are capable of such feelings.
