Nearly 50 Labour MPs have written to the chancellor calling for an immediate halt to a planned rise in business rates for music venues, warning that the revaluation could push many spaces to the brink of closure.
In a letter seen by the BBC, the MPs urged Rachel Reeves to pause the revaluation due to take effect from April, arguing that it could drive increases in music venues’ business rates bills of between 45 per cent and 275 per cent.
The letter warns that the sector is facing an “existential threat” as rising costs collide with the withdrawal of pandemic-era support. It comes as the chancellor works on a support package for pubs, under pressure from the hospitality industry and Labour backbenchers, which is expected to be announced imminently.
In her November Budget, Reeves reduced business rates discounts introduced during the pandemic from 75 per cent to 40 per cent, and confirmed that all discounts will end entirely from April. The move has already sparked a backlash across hospitality, with around 1,000 pubs reportedly banning Labour politicians from their premises in protest.
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