Welsh first minister says swap Netflix for the pub

Wales’s first minister has urged the public to ditch Netflix and online shopping and instead support struggling high streets by heading to the pub for a drink.

Eluned Morgan was speaking in Wales’ parliament, the Senedd, after the announcement yesterday (3 February) of a business rate discount of 15% for pubs, restaurants, cafés and live music venues for the 2026-27 financial year.

Morgan said: “If people want to see those businesses succeed, they need to use them. They need to stop buying things online. They need to get out of their homes and stop watching Netflix.”

The rates discount is intended to help around 4,400 businesses facing rising costs but will only last for one year.

The Senedd’s support package follows similar measures introduced in England to address high business rates and help the hospitality sector manage rising costs. In England, pubs and live music venues will receive a 15% business rates discount from April, with rates frozen for a further two years, in a package understood to be worth around £100m a year.

David Chapman, executive director of UKHospitality Cymru, said: “The additional 15% relief is helpful to some, but it’s notable that this is only a one-year commitment, which is a significant difference to the three years committed to in England.

“Welsh government’s inclusion of restaurants and cafés, alongside pubs, is clear recognition that this is a hospitality-wide problem, yet this is far from a hospitality-wide solution.

Chapman added that, even for those receiving relief, “rates bills will still be going up year-on-year”.

“We need a swift end to this unjust system, which challenges business viability, investment and growth. Hospitality still needs to see proper business rates reform and action to reduce the cost of doing business,” he said.

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