Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan has triggered a political backlash after urging people to abandon streaming services and visit their local pub to support struggling hospitality businesses.
Speaking in the Senedd yesterday, Ms Morgan said members of the public needed to “stop watching Netflix” and “get out of their homes” if they wanted pubs and restaurants to survive.
Her comments were made during an exchange on business taxation and the financial pressures facing hospitality venues across Wales.
The intervention came as Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth challenged the Welsh Government’s approach to business rates.
Mr ap Iorwerth warned the hospitality sector was facing “an existential crisis” that required “urgent and radical change”.
Responding from the dispatch box, the First Minister rejected calls for further intervention by the Government. Ms Morgan said: “They need to stop buying that bottle of wine at home and go out to the pub.
“That is the reality of what is happening here.”
She added the Government could not be expected “to step in and do the work that the public should be doing”.
The comments coincided with the Welsh Government’s announcement of a reduction in business rates for hospitality venues.
Under the scheme, pubs, restaurants, cafes and live music venues will receive a 15 per cent discount on their rates bills during the 2026/27 financial year.
The Welsh First Minister’s comments have sparked a backlash
|
GETTY
Around 4,400 businesses across Wales are expected to benefit, with the total cost of the scheme estimated at £8million.
Finance secretary Mark Drakeford said the Government recognised the pressures facing the sector. Mr Drakeford said hospitality and live music venues were “facing real pressures, from rising costs to changing consumer habits”.
To limit the amount claimed by larger operators, the Welsh Government has imposed a cap of £110,000 per business.
The announcement follows complaints from Welsh businesses about steep increases in rates bills, driven by higher property valuations following the most recent revaluation exercise.
Opposition figures criticised the First Minister’s remarks, accusing her of deflecting responsibility.
Hertfordshire’s Green Dragon pub slammed the Chancellor for hiking taxes and business rates
|
FacebookMr ap Iorwerth said, “This is a first minister that is completely out of touch, she has form for blaming others instead of taking responsibility for the Government’s own failures.”
Welsh Conservative Senedd leader Darren Millar also condemned the comments. Mr Millar said Ms Morgan had previously blamed Brexit and Donald Trump for Wales’s economic difficulties, adding that she was now blaming “Welsh citizens and Netflix”.
Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds said rising costs were the real issue for consumers.
Ms Dodds said, “People are not willingly choosing Netflix over the high street. They are being forced indoors because prices keep rising and wages are not.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage says the death of pubs is on Labour
|
GETTYReform UK also criticised the remarks. A party spokesman said it was “Labour, not Netflix, that is causing pub closures”.
The Welsh scheme has been compared with support announced for England.
In England, pubs and live music venues will also receive a 15 per cent rates discount from April, followed by a two year freeze.
Asked why the Welsh relief would last only one year, ministers pointed to the election timetable, saying decisions for 2027/28 and beyond would fall to the next Senedd. Wales is due to hold Senedd elections in three months.
The decision to cut rates in England followed significant backlash to the November Budget, which left many businesses facing large increases in their rates bills. The controversy led to more than one thousand pubs banning Labour MPs from their premises.
Trade body UKHospitality Cymru welcomed aspects of the Welsh package, saying it appreciated the inclusion of restaurants and cafes. However, it said it was “notable” that the relief would last for only twelve months.
The organisation warned that rates bills would continue to rise year on year and noted that hotels, which were facing the biggest increases, had been excluded.
Chris Charters, director of the Campaign for Real Ale Wales, also responded to the announcement. Mr Charters said the discount was welcome but warned that property revaluations “could still lead to more of our locals in Wales being forced to close for good”.
Business rates policy in Wales is devolved, with rates set by the Welsh Government and collected by local councils.
