Industry names line up to attack Labour

Giles Shepard, managing director of London's Ritz hotel, and Michael Guthrie, chief executive of motorway services operator Welcome Break, have joined a host of business leaders in attacking the Labour Party in the run-up to today's General Election.

In an open letter published in last Friday's Daily Mail, the businessmen claimed that a Labour government would put at risk all the gains made over the past 18 years.

"The attitude of the Labour Party towards successful privatised industries, their obsessive support for the EU Social Chapter and the minimum wage should make business question whether the Labour Party has genuinely scrapped its long-standing belief in regulation and intervention as tools of economic policy," it added.

Commenting on his decision to sign the letter, Mr Shepard said he was most concerned about Labour's plans to adopt the Social Chapter and introduce a pay floor.

"The minimum wage would have big implications for costs. Although hotels in London are already paying above the minimum wage, the costs for hotels in the countryside will go up and fewer people will be employed," he claimed.

"The Social Chapter will also affect the length of working hours which would affect night porters and night managers."

Mr Shepard added: "The Conservative government has been good for this industry." When contacted by Caterer, Mr Guthrie refused to elaborate on his views. Jarvis Hotels chairman John Jarvis was also one of the 38 signatories to the letter.