Andy Burnham has promised to cut business rates for pubs by 20 per cent were he to become prime minister. The Mayor of Greater Manchester, running as Labour’s candidate in the Makerfield by-election, has stated he will seek to oust Sir Keir Starmer if he wins.He also promised to reverse tax rises which have hit hospitality and small businesses since Labour came to power. The government is undertaking a revaluation of business rates which, coupled with a removal of Covid-era relief, is expected to result in higher levies for restaurants, cafes, shops and other small businesses.Pubs and music venues were given a carve-out to help with costs in January, with a 15 per cent rates relief package, following public outcry.But Mr Burnham has pledged to go further and cut rates by 20% for pubs, as well as increasing the threshold at which other small businesses would need to pay business rates, effectively abolishing the tax for the smallest concerns.He also said he was “sympathetic” to calls to reverse Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s increase in employers’ national insurance.Labour’s Makerfield candidate said: “Our high streets matter to me because they matter to the people who live here. I want to make sure that these family-owned businesses, as the heart and soul of this country, are protected and given the chance to thrive.Greater Manchester Mayor Burnham visited a pub in Wigan on Friday (Temilade Adelaja/Reuters)“I am willing to be honest about where we have fallen short – and say that my party has got this wrong in Government. They have undervalued the contribution these businesses make to our livelihoods and our communities.”He added: “Reconnecting Labour to working-class Britain means backing our high streets and reconnecting with our local family-run businesses. I want to build a future where businesses in Makerfield can grow in confidence knowing we are on their side. That starts with giving them a fairer tax system and standing up for the people who run them.”The rates cut for pubs, which would begin in 2027-28, is estimated to cost around £100 million, the Telegraph said.To fund his plans, Mr Burnham said he would raise taxes on online tech giants and their warehouses in Britain.Mr Burnham told BBC’s Newsnight that the decision to hike national insurance contributions for employers, announced in Ms Reeves’s first budget, was wrong.“I have said that I thought the weight of the burden on employers’ national insurance wasn’t the right decision, however it was the decision.“There is more that needs to be done to listen to the voice of small business and as I’ve gone around this constituency I’m hearing it a lot.“People just feel they are at the kind of limits of what they can do.”Asked if he was open to reversing that he said: “I’m sympathetic to that, because I’ve been on the record of saying that before, this thing I’m announcing today isn’t the be-all and end-all.”