‘Starmer lied to my face’: Entrepreneur’s fury after PM instructed him in 2024 to not concern charges reforms

A leading entrepreneur on Thursday night accused the Prime Minister of ‘lying to my face’ about business taxes as he joined the ban on Labour MPs entering his pubs.

Steve Perez, who set up drinks maker Global Brands and runs hotels and pubs in the East Midlands, said Keir Starmer assured him two days before the general election that he had ‘nothing to fear under Labour’.

But he now says he feels betrayed and declared: ‘The Government cannot claim to support hospitality businesses while taxing them into oblivion.’

The comments came as Labour faces a mounting backlash over its botched business rates reforms that have left firms facing sharply higher bills.

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said 15,000 jobs are at risk as close to 5,000 small pubs are hit with a business rates bill for the first time – leaving many on the brink of collapse.

‘Two days before he became Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer stood in my premises, shook my hand, and assured me that Labour would support Britain’s hospitality industry,’ said Mr Perez.

‘He told me business rates reform was on the table, and that we had “nothing to fear under Labour”.

‘He looked me in the eye and promised help. Keir Starmer lied to my face.’

Mr Perez said the rise in business rates bills may be ‘the difference between scraping by and going under’.

Steve Perez, who set up drinks maker Global Brands and runs hotels and pubs in the East Midlands, said Keir Starmer assured him two days before the general election that he had ‘nothing to fear under Labour’. The pair are pictured together

He added: ‘Some publicans may even find themselves losing not just their livelihood, but their homes. And when a pub closes, it is not only a business that disappears – it is the heart of a community. A place that combats loneliness, anchors local life and brings people together.

‘Quite simply, the Government cannot claim to support hospitality businesses while taxing them into oblivion.’

His venues will now join dozens of pubs who have started to bar Labour politicians – declaring they will serve them once they start listening to the industry.

More than 50 pubs have put up signs saying ‘No Labour MPs’ in a show of protest, according to restaurateurs in Dorset who started the campaign.

One MP barred by his local dismissed his constituent’s struggles as unrelated to the Government’s high taxes – in remarks that further enraged the sector last night.

Tom Hayes, MP for Bournemouth East, said that financial difficulties faced by the Larder House in Southbourne ‘can’t all be put down to Government policy, it’s down to not getting customers through the door’.

James Fowler, who runs the venue and came up with the idea to ban politicians, had complained that the hospitality industry’s plight is ‘ignored all the time’ by ministers.

In response to the MPs’ comments, Tory business spokesman Andrew Griffith said: ‘You’d have to live in a cave to realise that pubs have been at the sharp end of this Chancellor’s policies. 

‘Higher employment costs, rates hikes and rising energy costs all collide with squeezed consumer spending. If this government don’t even recognise there’s a problem they are more out of touch than ever.’

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the BBPA, warned on Thursday night that November’s Budget has ‘left publicans petrified and many fearing there is no way they can survive these sky-high bill increases or keep their home’.

She called for ‘urgent intervention’ in the form of a 30pc reduction in pubs’ bills from April – which would help to save 15,000 jobs currently at risk.

Failing this, she warned that ‘communities will lose their pubs at an alarming rate and take with them livelihoods and jobs’.

And celebrity chef Tom Kerridge yesterday said his bills would double in increases from April which ‘limits our ability to create jobs, invest in improvements or even keep our doors open’.

Businesses were already struggling after Labour’s first Budget hit them with massive increases in employer National Insurance contributions and wages last year.

High Street firms have long complained about business rates, saying the unfair and outdated system penalises pubs and shops over online sellers.

They had been hoping for an improvement in last month’s Budget when Ms Reeves boasted that she was introducing ‘permanently lower tax rates for over 750,000 retail, hospitality and leisure properties’.

She hailed ‘the lowest tax rates since 1991’ and said reductions would be paid for by charging online giants more.

But as more details emerged, UK Hospitality revealed that small venues – such as pubs, bars and cafes – will see business rates bills rise by £318million over the next three years.