The nation’s chefs have issued an urgent plea to the Chancellor: slash VAT on hospitality to 10% or watch the heart of British social life collapse. In a stark warning delivered yesterday, the Chefs’ Union and the British Hospitality Association said rising costs and dwindling custom are pushing thousands of pubs, restaurants and cafes to the brink.
“We are fighting for our survival,” said Angela Hartnett, the acclaimed chef and co-owner of the Murano group. “Ingredients, energy, wages all up. But the customer cannot pay more. A VAT cut is the only way to stop the rot.”
The call comes as new data shows hospitality businesses face an average cost increase of 18% since 2021. Many are operating on margins of less than 3%. The current 20% VAT rate means a £20 meal carries £4 in tax. A cut to 10% would save the sector an estimated £3.5bn a year.
For workers, the stakes are personal. “I’ve got chefs who can’t afford to heat their homes,” said Tom Kerridge, the Michelin-starred chef who runs the Hand & Flowers in Marlow. “If we go under, they lose their jobs. And where do they go? The hospitality industry employs 2.5 million people.”
Smaller businesses are equally desperate. In Manchester, the owner of the White Hart, a family-run pub since 1987, told me the VAT cut would mean the difference between keeping staff on for winter or making redundancies. “We already cut opening hours. Next is people,” he said.
The government temporarily cut VAT to 5% during the pandemic and then 12.5% in 2021. But it reverted to 20% in April 2022. Since then, inflation, energy costs and the national insurance rise have squeezed margins to breaking point.
Ministers have so far resisted. A Treasury spokesperson said the government is “supporting businesses through business rates relief and the growth plan”. But critics say that does not offset the payroll tax hikes coming in April.
“The Chancellor must act now,” said Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality. “We are not asking for a handout. We are asking for a level playing field. The 20% rate is a death sentence for too many.”
The chefs’ campaign has gathered pace on social media, with the hashtag #SaveOurPubs trending. Over 50,000 people have signed a petition calling for the cut.
For the public, the impact is visceral. Pubs and restaurants are more than businesses; they are meeting places, community anchors, and employers of young and old. In the North, where I grew up, the local pub is often the only space left for a pint and a chat. Losing that would be a cultural tragedy.
“We are the fabric of high streets,” said a chef from a Leeds gastropub. “But we cannot keep subsidising the government’s tax take with our livelihoods.”
The question now is whether Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt will listen. They have until the Spring Budget to change course. For thousands of hospitality owners, it cannot come soon enough.
