12/06/2026
Wow, just wow, you just can't make this up....
Chancellor Rachel Reeves made an address (sent a pre-recorded video) to the UKHospitality conference, telling struggling operators she knows we’ve endured a "hard period".
Her slogan? "When hospitality thrives, Britain thrives."
But what is she actually doing to help us thrive? Absolutely nothing. Instead, she’s taxing the living daylights out of the industry through sky-high business rates and one of the most punitive VAT rates in the western world, then asking the sector to "work with the Government to drive growth."
Translation: keep paying high taxes, work a miracle, and they’ll take the credit.
The entire industry is screaming for a permanent VAT cut to 10% just to survive. The petition has smashed past 200,000 signatures because pubs, restaurants, and cafes are closing every week under the weight of utility bills, business rates, and 20% VAT (the second highest in Europe).
The Chancellor’s grand solution? A temporary summer gimmick cutting VAT only on soft play centres and children’s meals. 🛝🍟 Because nothing saves a traditional British wet-led pub quite like a tax break on chicken nuggets and a ball pool.
They just don't get it. You cannot tax a sector into oblivion, ignore pleas for reform, and expect it to be an "engine of growth." Pubs are running on absolute fumes. 💨
Stop the video messages, drop the empty PR slogans, and just cut the VAT! 📉
Full article here:
https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2026/06/11/reeves-urges-hospitality-to-back-growth-push-as-vat-pressure-mounts/
Sign the VATs The Problem petition here: https://www.vatstheproblem.co.uk/
Credit to
Chancellor Rachel Reeves calls on hospitality to help drive economic confidence, citing rates relief and summer measures, as industry ramps up calls for a VAT cut.
