MP launches campaign to protect rural pubs

By Laura Linham 19th Aug 2026

Local News by Laura Linham 19th Aug 2026

Glastonbury and Somerton MP Sarah Dyke has launched a campaign aimed at protecting Somerset's rural pubs as new figures point to continued pressure on businesses across the county.

The Liberal Democrat MP is calling for changes to VAT, business rates and employers' National Insurance as she prepares to visit pubs across her constituency during a summer tour.

Her campaign follows analysis showing 1,120 businesses closed across Somerset during the first six months of 2026, with closures running ahead of new openings.

Figures highlighted by Ms Dyke also show Somerset lost more than 100 hospitality and entertainment venues between 2019 and 2024.

The MP says rural pubs are being hit particularly hard by the combination of energy bills, employment costs and the business rates system.

For villages across the Glastonbury and Somerton constituency, the issue goes beyond the loss of somewhere to buy a pint.

Pubs can be among the few remaining businesses and meeting places in smaller communities, while also employing local people and buying from food, drink and other suppliers across Somerset.

Dyke, who is the Liberal Democrats' Rural Affairs spokesperson, is now calling on the Government to adopt three policies proposed by her party.

They include an emergency 5 per cent VAT rate for hospitality, accommodation and visitor attractions, reform of business rates and the reversal of increases to employers' National Insurance — which Liberal Democrats have repeatedly described as a "jobs tax".

The proposals are party policy and have not been adopted by the Government.

Dyke is also using her summer constituency tour to hold events at pubs around Glastonbury and Somerton, where she says she will speak directly to landlords, staff and customers about the pressures they face.

The wider economic figures cited as part of the campaign show 8,720 people looking for work across Somerset, including 1,720 young people.

Dyke said: "Rural pubs are at the heart of our communities. They provide local jobs, support our tourism economy, showcase Somerset's fantastic food and drink, and give people a place to come together.

"Yet too many landlords are being pushed to the brink by rising costs, an unfair business rates system and the Government's jobs tax. Without urgent action, more villages risk losing their last remaining pub.

"That's why I'm launching this campaign to stand up for Somerset's pubs and the people who run them. The Government must back our hospitality sector with an emergency VAT cut, meaningful business rates reform and by scrapping the jobs tax before even more businesses are forced to close their doors.

"I will continue visiting pubs across Glastonbury and Somerton over the coming weeks, listening to landlords, staff and customers, and taking their concerns directly to Ministers in Parliament."

The campaign puts rural hospitality at the centre of Dyke's summer programme at a time when businesses across the sector are facing pressure from labour, energy and property costs.

Nationally, more than 300 licensed hospitality venues disappeared from the market during the first three months of 2026, according to industry analysis by CGA by NIQ, amid higher labour and energy costs.

Dyke's summer tour is running through August, with advice surgeries being held in pubs and village halls across the Glastonbury and Somerton constituency.

Alongside the pub campaign, she says she is continuing to press for stronger action on shoplifting and anti-social behaviour affecting local businesses.