Iconic 119-year-old bakery dubbed ‘the stalwart’ of UK town SHUTS as owner slams Rachel Reeves for final nail in coffin
Iconic 119-year-old bakery dubbed ‘the stalwart’ of UK town SHUTS as owner slams Rachel Reeves for final nail in coffin
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A POPULAR family-run bakery has announced it will pull down its shutters - pointing the finger at Chancellor Rachel Reeves for the business' demise. Lancaster’s Bakery in Harrogate, North Yorkshire welcomed in punters for over a century but have pulled the plug following a crippling increase in employer costs.
![[Exterior view of Lancaster's Bakery.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/iconic-119-year-old-bakery-967123571_a2822d.jpg?strip=all&w=640)
The owners broke the news to loyal customers online. "It is with the greatest regret that we are closing Lancaster’s Bakery from Saturday, February 1 after 119 years in the family," they wrote. "The last couple of years have been very challenging with rising ingredient costs and utility bills, but the Budget increases in employer costs has made the situation even worse.
![[Lancaster's Bakery storefront.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/iconic-119-year-old-bakery-967123320.png?strip=all&w=960)
"Added to all these increases is the reduction in Business Rate Relief for small businesses.". It follows Reeves' first Budget in October, which was dubbed "the most damaging for independent retailers in recent memory" by the British Independent Retailers Association.
![[A woman holding a red budget box.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/image_40142a.png?strip=all&w=670)
The Chancellor controversially announced tax rises amounting £40billion - including raising the rate of employer National Insurance contributions. This, alongside increasing minimum wage, has hiked costs for retailers and led some to raise their prices to absorb the increase.
Figures this month showed bosses had wasted no time in pulling permanent recruitment adverts, with December seeing the steepest drop in job vacancies in well over four years. A closely watched report by KPMG and REC, compiled by S&P Global, shows the job market is already shrinking, with companies explicitly blaming the rise in employer national insurance contributions.
