Brexit In 2016, Martin actively
campaigned for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union and was a strong supporter of
Brexit, donating £200,000 to the
Vote Leave campaign in 2016. He also campaigned on
BBC Radio 4 programmes including
Today,
Question Time and
Farming Today. Throughout the campaign, he gave his reasons for the
United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union. In January 2017, Wetherspoons published figures showing an increase in sales of more than 3%. Martin used this as evidence that there was no post-Brexit referendum slowdown as predicted by economists. In June 2018, Martin announced that Wetherspoons would be ceasing the sale of products from other
European Union countries in a 24-month plan, with the immediate example of
Prosecco and
Champagne being replaced by
Australian wines. He believes the prediction of
food prices rising and food shortages leading to stockpiling of supplies in the UK post-Brexit is merely scaremongering tactics deployed by pro-EU journalists, and mentioned the fact there were no increased queues in his restaurants as a result; after he removed French brandy from sale in his restaurants as an example. Wetherspoons mass posted a pro-Brexit magazine to an unknown number of households in January 2019. The magazine claims to have a readership of two million. The employee campaign group, Spoons Workers Against Brexit, described the publication as dangerous propaganda, and said that Martin was exploiting his position as CEO. Wetherspoons responded by defending the mass mailing, stating it contained "... pro and anti Brexit articles to stimulate debate"; the proportionately minor mentions of views critical to a no deal Brexit were preceded by statements by Martin, deriding expert opinions and "the elite". In June 2021, Martin called on the UK government to introduce a "reasonably liberal immigration system" controlled by Britain rather than the European Union. He suggested the government should adopt a visa scheme for workers from the EU to help the UK's pubs and restaurants hire more staff.
COVID-19 pandemic Martin criticised the shutdown of businesses during the
COVID-19 pandemic, saying that it was "over the top" and that pubs should continue to operate but with
social distancing measures in place. After criticism regarding the shutdown of all pubs due to the spread of
COVID-19, Martin addressed his 40,000 employees by video message. He acknowledged the government would pay 80 per cent of the wages of staff at companies who have lost work during the crisis, but he said the money could take weeks to come through. Martin suggested that if some staff were offered jobs in supermarkets they should consider taking them and promised that he would give first preference to those who wanted to come back to Wetherspoons. A number of newspapers inaccurately reported Martin's suggestion, but later issued corrections. The majority of staff were placed on the Government furlough scheme after its announcement. On 19 January 2022, in a statement to the
London Stock Exchange (LSE), Martin accused the Prime Minister
Boris Johnson of "hypocrisy" over the
"Partygate" scandal, arguing that much of the controversy would have been avoided if Downing Street staff had been able to visit
pubs which, at the time of the alleged lockdown parties, were closed due to coronavirus restrictions.
Cost of living crisis Commenting in June 2023 on the effects of the
cost-of-living crisis in the UK, Martin remarked that increasing costs in the British brewing industry may result in raised prices to consumers, and suggested that the price of a
pint of beer could reach £8 or more. He also expressed concerns that breweries may consider watering down beer to gain
tax breaks. In November 2024, Martin said that pub drinkers should expect prices to rise as a result of Labour's budget. This is due to growing business pressures from the increased national minimum wage and employers' national insurance contributions. In February 2026, Martin backed
Reform UK's plan to slash
VAT for pubs, saying the policy would "utterly transform the competitiveness of pubs." ==Personal life==