The remarks, made in an interview with Insider Media, have prompted concern across hospitality, with operators questioning whether the sector is being overlooked in the Government’s growth strategy.
‘Soul destroying’
Frisco Pubs MD Heath Ball described the comments as “soul destroying”. He said: “That someone can be that flippant about the third biggest employer in the country and the largest employer of young people in the country… They truly do not value what we do.”
He said hospitality is “not even part of the conversation regarding growth”, despite repeatedly proving it can deliver economic expansion.
Ball argued that hospitality’s contribution extends far beyond front-of-house roles. “It’s not just us… it’s our supply chain. It’s the family business that supplies us crabs, the fishmongers, the butchers, the local charities, the place where people celebrate the joys and sadness of life.”
He added that the sector is increasingly treated as a discretionary luxury. “We are considered a luxury…Yet in Europe, it is considered a necessity to a happy and healthy life. What I would do for their VAT rates.”
‘Clear disconnect’
Ardent managing director Dom Jacobs said the comments appeared to reflect “the Government’s broader actions towards hospitality”.
“There is a clear disconnect between the rhetoric around economic growth and the lack of meaningful support for one of the UK’s most dynamic and employment-rich sectors,” he said.
Hospitality is uniquely positioned to stimulate immediate economic activity, generate employment at all skill levels, and regenerate high streets and communities. Overlooking it is both short-sighted and economically counterproductive.
Jacobs
Jacobs echoed the economic footprint of pubs. “Around 25% of our revenue goes directly towards cost of goods, supporting UK brewers, farmers and producers, sustaining jobs right across the supply chain.”
He added: “Hospitality is the UK’s third-largest employer, with more than 3.5 million people working in the sector… It should be recognised as the major economic contributor it is.”
Mark Bridgen, owner of the Dog at Wingham, said the industry was not being overlooked but that the Government was “actively trying to shrink it”.
“It isn’t new hospitality businesses that are making noise, it is established businesses that are dying,” he said.
Bridgen pointed to the local impact of his own pub: “We employ 25 local, predominantly young people… we collect over £300k per annum in taxes for the government.”
Last month, JDW chairman and founder Sir Tim Martin revealed that Wetherspoon paid £837.1m in tax in 2024 to 2025 across corporation tax, VAT, business rates, duty, PAYE and machine levies, the equivalent to more than £1m per pub across its 794-site estate.
Across the responses, operators called for structural reform rather than short-term relief, citing business rates reform, changes to employer national insurance and a reduction in VAT on food, non-alcoholic drinks and accommodation as priorities.
With ministers currently signalling a willingness to review aspects of hospitality taxation, the strength of reaction suggests the sector will continue pressing for clearer recognition of its economic role within the Government’s growth agenda.
