29/10/2026
CHARGE!
I’m really looking forward to the cavalry arriving.
Any day now would be good.
So much has already been written about yesterday’s budget so I would be remiss not to add my 2 pence to the debate.
I am a publican and a life long participant in the hospitality trade. Running pubs has always been a tough ask. Tough on your feet, tough on your mind, the challenges we face seem relentless at times, if it’s not a gobby dips**t at the bar its the card machine playing up, a power outage at the worst possible moment, a till that doesn’t work, a gas bottle that’s faulty, a member of staff not turning up, a fryer that doesn’t light. The list goes on.
And then there are the bills, up and up and up. Constant supplier price creep, delivery shortages, insurances, NI, and of course yet another increase in the minimum wage. Like everyone has said before me, I’m not averse to paying my people correctly but the constant increases, coupled with employers NI & employers pension contributions means that I can’t realistically employ anyone else.
I am not averse to paying my tax. Yes, I begrudge being an unpaid tax collector but recognise that if we don’t pay tax then we will not have the infrastructure that we enjoy today. My small business in the YE25/26 paid c£50k over to HMRC (excluding employee PAYE , NI and pensions) and that excludes b**r duty, which by the way, has gone up. Again!
That’s just from my little piece in the puzzle.
What I do begrudge, is this government, the last government, the next government squandering this money. The same bombastic political promises that never materialise, the punishing VAT regime, the cash cow view and complete disdain for hospitality in general. It was once common that discussing politics in the pub was forbidden. But such is the current climate it’s all I hear now beyond the bar. Everyone has a gripe to air. The level of unhappiness in people is not something I have experienced in the UK until recently.
I’m a realist. This is my choice, and my livelihood, and I will continue to try to offer a warm and welcoming escape from the slog of everyday life. I know it’s now expensive to leave your front door, we all feel that, but I ask that you continue to support your local. There are many pubs like the Plough and we all need your love. Make the choice where you spend your money wisely and frankly, hold us to account, if we serve you a poor pint or a plate of food, tell us. We’re not in this business to disappoint you and if we want your business we have to be good enough to earn it.
Long live the local.
Neale
PS. I wrote a book a while ago about the small business lessons I have learnt in my lifelong participation in hospitality.
‘Suck It Up Buttercup’. Find it on Amazon.
