The sudden closure of iconic Bath venue Moles has been raised in Parliament by Bath's MP, as its founder has warned "there will be no live music industry in the future" without government support.

Moles announced last week that it would be closing with immediate effect, warning that rising costs had made it "impossible to continue." On Thursday December 7, Bath MP Wera Hobhouse called for a debate in Parliament into the loss of small music venues.

She told the House of Commons: "Moles, Bath's wonderful grassroots music venue, was sadly forced to close its doors last week. It was an incubator for many new talents and gave many household names their first chance on stage.

"Without grassroots venues, there will be no music industry. More than 100 small music venues were forced to close their doors in the UK last year due to cost pressures that they could not meet.

"Can we have a debate in Government time about the importance of our small music venues?"

Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt said: "I am very sorry to hear about that, and I am sure the honourable lady speaks for many of her constituents who will miss that facility.

"We have managed to get a lot of organisations through the terrible few years that we have had, particularly with the pandemic, but we need to build back what we have lost and organisations that are fragile"

Moles was founded in 1977 and quickly became a Bath institution, with a reputation for platforming groups early in their career who would go on to make mainstream success, such as Bath-based group Tears for Fears. A petition calling on the council to step in and preserve the venue has racked up over 3,500 signatures. 

Philip Andrews, founder and co-owner of Moles said: "Last year we lost 125 grass roots venues. Bands like Oasis, The Smiths, Tears For Fears, Supergrass, The Eurythmics, Radiohead and others too numerous to mention all passed through Moles Club on their way to international fame.

"But now the cumulative effect of PRS, VAT and rates charges plus all the other legislation put grassroots music live venues under extreme threat and without government action there will be no live music industry in the future.

"It's too late for Moles but, for the sake of other small venues and the bands of the future, that action cannot come soon enough."

Ms Hobhouse said: "As someone who is deeply passionate about the transformative power of music, I cannot stress enough how crucial it is to support grassroots music venues in Bath. It is devastating to see Moles, which provided an essential platform for emerging local artists and musicians to hone their craft and showcase their talent, forced to close.

"Parliamentarians must come together and show their support for these all-important community hubs. This must be in the form of action – not just warm words. Without local small venues, our cities will lose out on so much joy."

Ms Hobhouse is the chair of the music in education all-party parliamentary group, and met with the Music Venues Trust earlier this year to discuss the mounting pressures across the sector. Grassroots music venues operate with a 0.2% profit margin on average, making them uniquely vulnerable.