Nigel Farage warned the move would be a “death knell for country pubs across Britain”. Pubs have already taken a hammering with high national insurance contributions for employers, and a rise to the minimum wage. They’ve also been hit by a reevaluation to property tax rates, and the expiration to rate relief for hospitality venues brought in during the pandemic.

Now the sector is calling for Sir Keir Starmer and Mrs Reeves to “accept the inevitable” and announce a u-turn. Boss of Star Pubs, Lawson Mountstevens, told the Sun: “The strength of feeling on this issue is clear, and speaks to the unique place pubs have in British society.

“We want to engage constructively and positively with as many MPs as possible, whether that be in pubs or in parliament, to press the case for a fairer and more proportionate settlement for our locals.”

Landlords are reportedly calling for a reduction in VAT, which they say might stave off industrial action expected to start at the end of the month.

The action is expected to be similar to that seen by farmers, which saw tractors blocking Whitehall, and eventually led to a partial climbdown from the Government on the Family Farm Tax, which saw farms dragged into inheritance tax for the first time.

The Daily Express campaigned to stop the Family Farm Tax since it was first announced, amid nationwide fears it could kill off the farming sector and irreparably harm rural Britain.

It comes as more than 1,000 pubs across the country reportedly barred Labour MPs in protest to changes to business rates, amid mounting pressure on the government to rethink their tax plans.

Pressure has even come from Sir Keir’s own MPs, with York Central’s Rachael Maskall saying in Prime Minister’s Questions “could the Prime Minister urgently review the business rate proposals” as she claimed she wanted to “avert a crisis on York’s high street.”