Dear Mr Burnham:

We are writing to you as editors of two national trade publications, The Bookseller and The Stage, with concerns about the impact that inequity in your business rates reform will have on our respective sectors. 

If nothing is done we stand to lose cherished and much-valued arts venues and bookshops across the country. In July, the government you lead proudly announced that pubs, clubs and live music venues in England would receive a 20% discount on their business rates bills as part of a £100m relief package.

At the time, you said: “This government will back the businesses that people want to see in their communities. I said I would protect pubs and local high streets – the beating heart of our communities – and that’s what we will do.” You added that the “rise of vape shops, betting shops and rogue operators have replaced the shops, services and community spaces that people are crying out for”.

We would strongly argue that you cannot talk about community without referencing the two things that sit at the heart of them: bookshops and theatres. Bookshops offer hubs that promote education, literacy and screen-free entertainment. Theatres, meanwhile, are often described as the beating hearts of their communities – places where people can gather to enjoy the shared experience of watching a show, often learning things about the world that they may not otherwise. 

Both give towns and high streets an identity – something locals can be proud of, allowing places to build reputations far beyond their geographical confines. But without action from your government, these community hubs are under threat.

You cannot talk about community without referencing the two things that sit at the heart of them: bookshops and theatres

The Bookseller has spoken to bookshop owners who say that if they are not given some respite from the charges, bills could increase fourfold by 2028/29. Some struggling bookshops would have to sell hundreds of extra books a month just to keep up with them, despite nothing else about their store changing.

Despite bookshops passing every test, jumping through every hoop and meeting every definition set by successive governments to prove their worth, the government continues to move the goalposts, the Booksellers Association’s MD Meryl Halls has said, adding: “Bookshops add value to our high streets. Now the government must value them.”

The Stage has reported that theatres are also at risk. One West End theatre has been hit by an increase in its annual business rates bill by £50,000 since April 2026. The Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre co-chief executive Hannah Essex has warned that theatres are being asked to absorb a tax burden that “takes too little account of the public value they create, or the realities of operating complex, fixed and often historic buildings”.

“Unlike many businesses, theatres cannot simply relocate, downsize or pass on higher costs without damaging access for audiences,” co-CEO Claire Walker stresses.

So, Mr Burnham, we urge you to consider bringing theatres and bookshops in line with the other areas you have so generously included in the business rates reforms, to give our sectors the greatest possible chance of weathering an already difficult economic climate.

Without action now, so much is at stake. We urge you to think again.