Nightclub industry chiefs furious after it emerges they WON’T be included in Burnham’s business rates tax cut – as they accuse PM of not understanding his own flagship policy

Nightclub industry chiefs have demanded Andy Burnham include them in his business rates tax cut, amid accusations he didn’t understand his own flagship policy.

Last week the Prime Minister promised to give ‘thousands of pubs, clubs and music venues a 20 per cent cut in their business rates’ in an effort to revive the high street.

But this week the Treasury confirmed the tax cut will only apply to ‘social clubs’, and not nightclubs. 

The Prime Minister is now facing questions about whether he understood the details of the policy, or was being deliberately misleading when referencing his DJ-ing during the announcement.

Chief Whip Anneliese Midgley also compounded the confusion after she posted a photo of her own ‘DJ days’, and suggested they would receive the 20 per cent rates cut ‘to help them keep going strong’.

The chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, Michael Kill, said: ‘There is a clear confusion in terminology between the Prime Minister’s comments, the Treasury’s interpretation and subsequent communications from across government.

‘Even senior ministers, when challenged, appeared confused by the use of the term ‘clubs’, and had to seek clarity, as they assumed it meant nightclubs, just as the industry did.’

Mr Kill accused the Treasury of ‘misinterpreting’ Mr Burnham’s announcement.

Last night a spokesman for the Treasury confirmed that nightclubs are ‘out of scope’ of the tax cut.

Another senior industry source said: ‘It’s concerning that Treasury have stepped in and spun it to mean it’s for working men’s clubs.’

The NTIA has warned there will be no major clubs left in the UK by 2030 if venue closures continue at their current rate. 

Three clubs a week have shut down since March 2020, a 37 per cent overall loss.