I RECENTLY visited The Oxenham Arms in South Zeal to hear firsthand how business rates are increasing by thousands of pounds for Devon pubs following the Budget.

Sitting down with Landlord and owner Simon, I heard directly how a steep jump in their rates bill is putting real pressure on a long established rural pub that does so much for its local community. They are not alone.

In recent weeks I have also met landlords and staff at other pubs across our constituency, all of whom are seeing the same pattern of rising fixed costs and growing anxiety about the future.

Right across the country businesses are being hit. Around one million commercial properties pay business rates and many are now seeing sharp increases as inflation and new rateable values feed through into bills.

In the hospitality sector, industry bodies warn that typical pubs will face rises running into thousands of pounds over the next few years, with some seeing their rates climb by 50 per cent or more compared with previous valuations.

For a small independent pub or village shop those kinds of increases are simply not sustainable and can be the difference between survival and closure.

Many in hospitality and leisure went into the recent Budget hoping for help and instead found themselves facing a nasty surprise.

For months there had been talk of reform and support, so a lot of publicans, hoteliers and small leisure operators thought their business rates burden would finally be reduced.

What they got was the opposite. The main business rates valuations have been increased and key reliefs that previously softened the blow for high street and hospitality businesses are now being scaled back or removed altogether.

That combination is particularly toxic for pubs, restaurants, cafés, guest houses and small leisure venues.

They are being hit twice, first by a higher valuation that pushes up bills across the board and then by the withdrawal of relief that many had been relying on to stay viable.

The net effect is that bills are rising sharply even for those who had expected to see them go down.

For a sector already grappling with higher wages, energy costs and food prices, this change is deeply destabilising and is forcing some to cut staff, shorten opening hours or mothball investment plans.

In rural constituencies like ours, pubs and small shops are more than just businesses. They are employers, meeting places and lifelines for older and more isolated residents.

When a village loses its pub or its last remaining shop, it does not just lose a service.

It loses part of its identity and a key part of the social fabric that holds people together.

That is why the experiences shared with me at The Oxenham Arms and at other local pubs matter so much. They are a warning about what could happen to our communities if this continues unchecked.

Labour’s punishing business rates rise is crushing our high streets, small businesses and rural communities. At a time when many households are already under pressure from the cost of living, loading extra fixed costs onto employers is the wrong call.

Instead of rewarding hard work and enterprise, the Budget has created a stealth tax on local jobs, investment and community life. Hospitality and leisure deserve a business rates system that matches the warm words they were given, not one that quietly hikes their bills while withdrawing the support they were promised.

I will keep standing up for the businesses of Central Devon and pressing for a fairer system that supports growth rather than stifling it.

Mel Stride

MP for Central Devon