Tom Kerridge: How to save London’s pubs, bars and clubs

If we don’t act now, it will be too late. Hospitality businesses, from independent village pubs to family-run hotels, are under siege. Really, our industry is at breaking point. It’s been bled dry and used as a scapegoat for wider economic issues. Ones that also need tackling.

Hospitality is one of the country’s biggest employers — the third largest behind the NHS and the retail sector — and it contributes billions each year to the Treasury. UKHospitality (the lobby group) figures say our industry employs 3.6 million people; we directly contribute £96 billion to the economy annually. You would think we would be allowed to prosper and flourish, instead of being trampled and squashed?

I live and breathe hospitality every day. I see it at my first venture, The Hand & Flowers, and at my pub in Chelsea, The Chalk Freehouse. It’s difficult across the board, at all of them. I have five businesses and not all of them are profitable. I realise I’m in a better position than many operators because I have a public profile and have won awards — well I’m using the space I’m in to try and fly the flag for everyone, to support the industry I love. I don’t think anyone in Britain would want to see their local pub close down; or see the little French bistro they’ve been visiting for years have to shut.

All this is why we’ve launched VAT’s the Problem, a new campaign to see VAT on hospitality businesses reduced from 20 per cent to 10 per cent. It would help support so many businesses under threat and it would help to unleash their potential. It would allow us to grow, thrive and contribute to this country. Right now, thousands are in survival mode. I hope the Government sees how a cut to 10 per cent would do wonders for businesses all over Britain. You look at Italy, France and Spain, three countries with famous and respected food cultures and industries — we’re asking to fall in line with European rates at 10 per cent VAT. In Germany it’s even lower: seven per cent!

It’s time to stand with us

Here, I think 10 per cent is fair for hospitality; 20 per cent is not, especially with all the other costs and expenditure we have, from business rates to rising utility bills and rents.

This petition is a call to action. We need the public to get behind us. We are aiming to get one million signatures in support of the VAT cut so that the Government wakes up and listens. So that ministers act. We feel like it’s the right time to galvanise and for everyone who loves pubs, restaurants, hotels and nightclubs to stand with us.

I think this is a movement — it’s about recognising that we need to be taxed in a much fairer way. I think the Government does notice us, does see us, but so far they haven’t responded or given us the support we so desperately need. So we need to push hard and prove that the cut would be a huge positive for everyone as a whole.

I’m hopeful. I think Andy Burnham might be on our side and I hope he does with the whole country what he’s managed to do with Manchester. It would be great and there’s a lot of promise there — Manchester is one of the most exciting, vibrant and dynamic food cities in the UK now. There’s a lot to be said for how it’s grown and flourished. There’s so much creativity out there, so many potential jobs to be unlocked.

A new PM, a fresh hope

I am glad Burnham has become Prime Minister, because he’s backed a cut to VAT. I think he understands the importance of pubs, restaurants and nightlife. I don’t want to talk badly about politicians at all. There’s a lot to do and fix. But there has been a disconnect in the past and Burnham looks like he can bridge some of those divides. So I do think our industry should get behind him. We need to strike a dialogue and work together.

Burnham’s business rates cut for pubs and clubs, announced today, is a positive step, but VAT is still a big issue. The simple fact is this: hospitality venues are closing at an alarming rate, around 21 every week because of taxes and hikes in business rates, increases in employer National Insurance, and rising energy bills and food inflation. This country is run by spreadsheets in the Treasury. People need to get out and see what’s happening. I know there are a lot of people working very hard in government, who want to understand what’s going on, but more needs to be done if we’re going to have amazing pubs and restaurants in the future.

I’m not alone in this campaign. A lot of my peers and colleagues are with me. We have Thomasina Miers (Wahaca), Tommy Banks (The Black Swan and more) and Yotam Ottolenghi. And so I hope the public gets behind us too. Imagine a neighbourhood without a local pub, somewhere to meet friends, a community asset? Somewhere to have a pint and a Scotch egg? Imagine a high street without an Italian restaurant or a pizzeria?

Let’s cut VAT to 10 per cent. Let us go out and get to work, to do what we do best: be hospitable. Give people great experiences to remember.

Tom Kerridge is a chef, broadcaster and the owner of five pubs and restaurants, including The Hand & Flowers in Marlow; to sign the VAT’s the Problem petition, visit vatstheproblem.co.uk

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