Speaking during a live press conference on Facebook this afternoon (3 February), Farage said the proposals would apply across the hospitality industry rather than being limited to pubs alone.
He warned that the industry is “on the edge of falling off a cliff”.
‘Social disaster’
Farage said the plan was designed to address what he described as a “social disaster” caused by pub closures, particularly in small towns and villages.
“Certainly in small town, small village Britain, when pubs close, it is a social disaster for the community,” he said.
The proposals build on reports that Reform would pledge a £3bn package of tax measures for hospitality, funded by reinstating the two child benefit cap.
Farage confirmed the plan would include a 10% cut to beer duty, a reduction in hospitality VAT to 10% and the gradual removal of business rates.
“You just think about it, VAT going down to 10% allied to a 10% cut in beer duty would be 40p off a pint of beer,” he said. “We go further with this, with changes to regulation, with the gradual phasing out of business rates.”
“Within two to three years these measures could take a pound off every pint, which begins to bring back some degree of competitiveness against the supermarkets,” he said.
Biz rates abolished
Reform has said business rates would be abolished for pubs over a four-year period, starting with high street venues and extending to all pubs by 2029 to 2030. Farage said the wider system of business rates had become a structural barrier to high street businesses.
“Business rates genuinely are a tax on the high street,” he said. “They are closing down businesses.”
Farage also used the press conference to criticise proposals to lower the drink driving limit, warning that changes could further harm pubs, particularly in rural areas.
Speaking on drink driving limits, he said: “Leave well alone. There is not a problem with this.”
Farage said proposals to reduce the limit would disproportionately affect rural communities where public transport options are limited.
“That’s fine if you’re living in London or Manchester or Birmingham,” he said. “But it ain’t fine if you’re living in the countryside.”
When asked about the timeframe for introducing the measures if Reform were to enter government, Farage said changes would be prioritised early but enacted pragmatically. “You can’t do everything overnight,” he said. “But you have to try in the first 100 days to do as many practical, straightforward, relatively easy things.”
He added that the package would be included in an early Budget. “This would all be lumped into what would happen in a first budget. So the sensible answer is reasonably quickly.”
Farage also criticised rising employment and energy costs, arguing that higher national insurance contributions and energy bills had compounded pressure across hospitality.
Energy bills have closed as many pubs in the last five years as any other factor.
Nigel Farage
Rejecting suggestions the proposals amounted to subsidy, Farage said tax reductions would be funded by welfare reform and would support private enterprise.
“Reducing taxation is not a subsidy,” he said. “What we’re doing is reducing the welfare bill in order to create private enterprise, jobs, wealth creation.”
He added that keeping hospitality businesses trading would also support the brewing sector. “If we can keep more pubs open, it will be a social good for the United Kingdom,” he said.
BBPA comment
A spokesperson for the British Beer and Pub Association said: “Given the unique and treasured role pubs play in our communities, culture, and job market, we’re pleased that political parties of all stripes are recognising the value of the local and want to ensure their success.
“Significantly reducing the overall tax burden and cost of doing business are key to ensuring pubs remain at the heart of communities, boost the economy, and keep people in jobs. It is important that all pub-operating models are supported to enable this.
“We’ll continue to work with all parties to ensure that the industry has a voice and plans are evidence-led, proportionate, and have the sector’s best interests at the heart of them.”
