‘We could save 21 businesses a week’: Tom Kerridge on his VAT cut campaign

“I think the change of leadership would actually be quite good, particularly if it’s Andy Burnham that comes in,” Kerridge told The Caterer.

“I am a Labour Party supporter. I believe in the fundamentals of what it stands for in terms of a workforce, an education system, healthcare, a transportation system. But there is a bit of a lack of an understanding of what happens with businesses – small businesses – at the minute.

“Andy Burnham has already made that point that hospitality needs to have a reduced level of VAT. That was something in a statement that he made a number of months ago, so if he manages to be Prime Minister, then the first thing he can’t do is a U-turn.”

Kerridge spoke to The Caterer on the day he became the face behind the nationwide campaign – VAT’s the Problem – calling for the government to cut VAT to 10%, in line with Europe.

Sign the petition here

Backed by industry bodies including UKHospitality, the British Beer & Pub Association and the British Institute of Innkeeping, the campaign calls on all hospitality leaders and their teams to sign the petition calling for VAT relief ahead of the campaign’s consumer launch on 1 July.

“It feels like it’s the first time that every sector of hospitality has got an opportunity to come together,” said the chef-owner of the two-Michelin-starred Hand & Flowers in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

“There’s so many different various parts of the sector, but this is the one thing we’re all affected by hugely, every single one, whether you’re a coffee shop or a small independent restaurant or a five-star hotel, it doesn’t matter. VAT is the one thing that makes a difference to all of us.”

Kerridge said having spoken to the Business and Trade Secretary and the Culture Secretary, they agree a VAT reduction for hospitality is necessary, but he said their problem has been “convincing the Treasury”.

He said the government announcing the reduction in VAT to 5% on children’s menus for the summer months shows it understands VAT is a “stimulant to growth and making the economy move forward”.

“They know it’s something that needs to be done,” he said. “But it’s about showing that maybe for a small, short-term, painful hit for government and the Treasury, there’s huge long-term growth prospects. The fact that we [could] stop 21 businesses a week shutting would be an absolute bonus straight away for them.”

As the campaign approached 40,000 signatures eight hours after launching, Kerridge said he hoped in the long-term the campaign could secure the sector its long-awaited Minister for Hospitality.

“Hopefully this sets us up with a line and a point of communication where, for the first time, hospitality has come together and been able to show some form of collective force. So then [we will] be able to have proper discussions about, perhaps, a minister for hospitality that makes sure our industry is seen and heard in an equal playing field to many other industries that have got direct routing to government.”