Reading that, and unable to tear my hair out, I thought how naïve are you, Rachel? It has been proven time and time again that the best thing to kickstart the economy is the hospitality sector, yet it’s like she missed that news and continues to ignore that reality.
Instead of punishing hospitality with insane tax rises, while approving runway developments, she should be looking to us to help kickstart the economy.
Right now, we are looking at the highest unemployment in five years; more jobs have been lost in the hospitality sector than in any other sector. Young people are not getting their first job in pubs and restaurants. We all know why.
Visit a pub
Is she counting on more tourism? Wonderful! All everyone hears is how many pubs are closing daily. We don’t really scream, “Come and visit a vibrant country with great pubs,” do we?! Let’s be honest: any tourist who wants to save a few quid on VAT is now shopping in Paris and Rome.
Visiting a pub is one of the main things tourists list when coming to this country, and sure, more will be able to come if we get a second runway at Gatwick. The sad news is that there might not be any pubs left for them to visit, and if there’s no pubs, what’s the point in visiting?!
All we ask for is fair taxes! Oh, don’t worry; we all know how broke the country is - that’s all we hear daily, but taxing hospitality out of business isn’t the answer! Surely something is better than nothing. With fair taxes, we get creative, we hire, we expand, we become a lighthouse for tourism. If only, Rachel, you had as much excitement as a new pub opening.
It is such a shame that we have a government that is so blinkered to what is really happening in hospitality in this country. It’s not that they don’t care; it’s that they have no bloody idea.