Rachel Reeves’ brutal tax raid is creating nightlife ‘deserts’ as pubs shut their doors and music venues continue to close in their masses across the country. According to new research by the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) and NIQ, an astonishing 25% of towns and cities now have no nightclubs.
The spike in closures since Covid means 16% of towns and cities have a complete absence of late-night venues. To add to this one in four after-hours venues across the country have shut their doors since 2020, according to NTIA. Since 2020, around a third of UK nightclubs have closed as clubbing seemingly ground to a halt.
Two of the UK’s most important cities that should be buzzing with late night venues have reported the sharpest drops.
Birmingham, the UK’s second biggest city, has seen the biggest drop, recording a 27.5% drop since 2020. This was closely followed by Manchester, which reported a 23.3% decline and now has just 79 late-night venues.
Bristol has suffered the third biggest decline with a drop of 22.9%. Meanwhile, London, which prides itself in offering a diverse nightlife experience, has suffered a 20.8% fall.
Michael Kill, chief executive of the NTIA, said: “the collapse of independent venues puts the entire nighttime economy at risk”.
He added: “We’re witnessing the loss of important social infrastructure from our towns and cities,” reports the Telegraph.
“These closures have coincided with soaring operational costs – including increases to minimum wage and National Insurance in April – and a continued shortfall in post-pandemic support for independent operators.”
Some 89,000 jobs have been axed in hospitality venues since Reeves’ Budget last October, according to analysis of official figures by UK Hospitality.
Fears are now mounting that Ms Reeves will announce a fresh wave of tax hikes in the Budget this autumn to plug a gaping hole in her finances.
A Government spokesman said: “Pubs, cafes and restaurants are vital to local communities, that’s why we’re cutting the cost of licensing, helping more pubs, cafes and restaurants offer pavement drinks and al fresco dining, and extending business rates relief for these businesses – on top of cutting alcohol duty on draught pints and capping corporation tax.”