By Stephen Patterson

For decades, successive governments have talked about supporting our high streets, revitalising city centres and backing the great British institution – the pub!

No political campaign is complete without the obligatory pulling of the pint.

But the pre-election rhetoric is inevitably abandoned, and this time round, it feels worse than ever.

Hospitality is not being undermined by a single bad decision or a momentary lapse in judgment.

It’s being worn down by a steady accumulation of policies, layered one on top of another, each adding cost, complexity or risk to an industry that already operates on wafer-thin margins.

If proposed increases to business rates go ahead, Newcastle will face some of the steepest increases anywhere in the country.

One city centre pub, the Dog and Parrot, is staring down a 664% rise in its rates bill, from around £12,000 to £95,000. To cover that increase, at 12p net........

© LBC