Political opinion: MP Andrew Griffith takes pubs fight to Parliament
Andrew Griffith MP, the Member of Parliament for Arundel and South Downs, met with a group of landlords Tom Richardson and Ollie Boulton (The Three Moles, Selham) Cindy Bradley and Peter Bradley, (The Foresters Arms, Graffham) and Andrew Lennox (The Old Thatch, and MD of the Fired Up Collective) in Parliament to discuss the unprecedented challenges facing the pub industry.
The publicans sounded the alarm in Westminster as they face increases in their business rates of thousands of pounds.
These increases, introduced by the Government in Chancellor’s Budget last Autumn, come alongside an increase in National Insurance Contributions – branded a ‘Jobs Tax’ by the Conservatives – and a rise in Alcohol Duty. Taken together, pubs across the South Downs are facing unsustainable costs that will push them out of business.
Mr Griffith, who serves as the Shadow Business Secretary in Parliament, has long been critical of the Government’s actions on pubs and other high street businesses.
Calling for a U-turn on the Chancellor’s business rates hikes, the local MP said in the House of Commons “[The Government] should know by now that you do not protect workers by bankrupting employers; you do not support our high streets, communities, pubs and restaurants by taxing them into submission.”
According to the British Beer and Pub Association, nearly one pub a day closed in 2025, with the number of closures expected to increase as we approach the incoming tax rises in April.
Speaking about the meeting, Andrew Griffith MP said: “Our pubs are on their last legs – they are bleeding out because of the choices the Chancellor has made.
This Government simply does not understand how tight the margins are for many pubs like those we all in enjoy here in the South Downs.
I stand by our local landlords as they fight for support and will keep backing their corner here in Westminster.”