Rachel Reeves adviser claims Britain ‘doesn’t need more restaurants’

Alexandra Depledge, government entrepreneurship adviser and founder and chief executive of architectural firm Resi said the UK “lacks economic resilience” due in large part to its over reliance on professional services and consumer businesses such as hospitality and retail.

In an interview with Insider Media, Depledge said: "We don’t need any more restaurants. I’m not anti-hospitality but that’s not where my efforts are."

Depledge, who met Rachel Reeves in 2022 and became an adviser in 2025, argued that the government instead needed to divert support and invest in high tech start-ups focusing on sectors such as quantum computing, advanced manufacturing and AI to drive Britain’s economic growth in years to come.

"We need to place bets. Everyone thinks a rising tide elevates all ships and we need to be fair to everybody. I don’t believe that,” she said.

Depledge also said Reeves “didn’t have much choice" but to raise taxes to rebalance the “hight debt ratio” incurred during the Covid pandemic, when the government launched a range of fiscal support packages for businesses.

“It’s quite incredulous that people are agog that taxes have gone up,” Depledge said.

“You don’t inject the level of support into an economy that we did during Covid, and not expect that something has got to give.”

The hospitality sector has incurred £7b worth of additional taxes across the government’s last two budgets consecutively. UKHospitality forecasts that hospitality closures could rise to as many of six per day this year as businesses shoulder increased business rates costs and employer taxes.