Andy Burnham takes office with a pledge to cut business rates for pubs and music venues

Andy Burnham took office as Britain’s prime minister on Monday, replacing Keir Starmer after Starmer’s resignation last month, and the country’s hospitality industry is now watching to see whether Burnham will turn a series of campaign-style promises into policy.

Burnham was expected to set out his government’s priorities in a speech outside 10 Downing Street later in the day. For pubs, clubs, music venues and other hospitality businesses, the focus is on whether his administration will move quickly on tax, licensing and planning changes that operators say could ease pressure on margins.

At the center of Burnham’s offer to the sector is a proposed 20% cut in business rates for pubs, clubs and live music venues. He has also pledged to raise the threshold for 100% Small Business Rates Relief from a rateable value of £12,000 to £18,000 and to extend taper relief from £15,000 to £21,000.

According to analysis cited by The Morning Advertiser from tax firm Ryan, those changes could remove more than 140,000 additional small premises from paying business rates and reduce liabilities by about £880 million a year. Burnham has argued that the plan could be financed by requiring large online warehouse operators to contribute more, saying traditional high street businesses carry a disproportionate share of the burden.

He has also said he would review the increase in employers’ National Insurance Contributions, a measure that has added to payroll costs in labor-intensive sectors such as hospitality. On value-added tax, Burnham has backed calls for a reduction for hospitality from 20% to 10%, though he has not made that cut a firm commitment. Instead, he has placed business rates reform at the center of his pitch to the industry.

Burnham, who was elected as member of Parliament for Makerfield in June after serving as mayor of Greater Manchester, has also promised licensing and planning reforms aimed at supporting the nighttime economy. Those proposals include targeted steps to reduce red tape and make it easier for venues to offer outdoor service. More recently, he has discussed scrapping the government’s digital ID policy as part of a broader effort tied to cost-of-living concerns.

Trade groups have broadly welcomed the direction of Burnham’s proposals, but many in the sector are asking for a timetable and details on implementation. Operators interviewed by The Morning Advertiser reacted with cautious optimism, saying the new prime minister’s language has been supportive but warning that delivery will matter more than rhetoric.

Neil Burke, managing director of Bigger Boat Hospitality, told the publication last week that Burnham appeared focused on hospitality and said a VAT cut could offer a needed short-term boost for struggling operators. At the same time, Burke questioned how such measures would be funded given wider pressure on public finances.

“If he can cut VAT, brilliant, but I question if he can,” Burke told the trade publication. He said any reduction would have to be paid for somewhere else in government spending and argued that promises made before taking office are easier than decisions made once budget realities are clear.

Even so, Burke said Burnham seemed like “a man of his word” whose intentions were serious. Ben Chaplin, Bigger Boat Hospitality’s co-founder and executive chef, told The Morning Advertiser that Burnham had built a strong relationship with hospitality businesses in Manchester, but said the real test would be whether he could extend that support across the country.

The stakes are especially high for drinks-led businesses. Any reduction in business rates or VAT could potentially improve cash flow for pubs, bars and restaurants that depend heavily on beer, wine and spirits sales. Licensing and planning changes could also affect investment decisions around terraces, late-night trading and venue expansion, all of which shape demand across the on-trade drinks market.

For now, however, much of what Burnham has offered remains at the level of promise rather than enacted policy. Hospitality operators are looking for early signals from his first days in office on whether relief on taxes and regulation will arrive quickly enough to help businesses facing high operating costs.