Here is Reform’s plan to save UK pubs – including cutting the price of beer by 44p

Zia Yusuf (Head of Policy at Reform UK) has detailed his party’s plans to save the UK’s hospitality and pub sector, which is grappling with increased costs and taxes.

In a post on social media, Yusuf noted that the country has gone from 69,000 pubs to around 45,000. While no timeline was provided for this drop, he did note that if nothing changes, the UK could be down to just 10,000 pubs by 2040.

“All because the political class has taxed, regulated and priced them to death. When a pub shuts, a community dies with it. So today Reform is setting out a fully funded plan to save Britain’s pubs and hospitality sector.” he said.

He added that if the VAT and Beer Duty cuts were passed onto consumers, the cost of a pint would fall by 44p.

The proposed changes by Reform UK include;

• Cut VAT for the whole hospitality industry to 10%
• Scrap Labour’s employer National Insurance hike for all hospitality businesses.
• Cut beer duty by 10%
• Abolish business rates for pubs, in stages.
• Change regulation (the beer orders) to support local ownership models

“This plan is fiscally neutral, fully funded by reinstating the two child benefit cap other than for working British families.

“Our plan goes much further than Rachel Reeves’ partial U-turn on business rates and the Conservative plan to cut business rates (which they increased) and roll back green energy rules (which they imposed),” he said.

A bloodbath for hospitality

The pace of hospitality closures increased in the fourth quarter of 2025, as operating cost pressures mounted, the latest Hospitality Market Monitor by NIQ shows.

The data indicates that Britain’s number of licensed premises fell by 0.4% in the last three months of the year. The 382 net closures are
equivalent to more than four per day.

The sharp drop was a disappointing end to a resilient 2025 for hospitality. In the first nine months of the year, site numbers had risen by 0.2% – an impressive performance in the context of a tough trading environment.

The abrupt reversal follows relentless inflation in key cost areas over the year, alongside fragile consumer confidence about spending. With managed groups and independent operators dropping by 0.5% and 0.2% respectively, it’s apparent that even well-resourced businesses are feeling the pinch.

Now read: Sainsbury’s just gave workers a 5% raise – here’s what they will now earn an hour