NewsBeat
Sacha Lord: Rachel Reeves must give hospitality a VAT cut
So what is the one thing I would ask the Chancellor for right now? Not just for London, but for the whole of the UK? It’s what we’ve all been crying out for — a sector-specific VAT reduction. Sunak did it when he was Chancellor, coming out of Covid, and it undoubtedly saved many businesses and jobs. I recently met Daisy Cooper, deputy leader of the Lib Dems, and she fully supported a VAT reduction. Even a reduction to thirteen per cent would still make us the 26th most taxed country in Europe in terms of hospitality, where the average is in the region of nine per cent. Incidentally, at the Night Time Industries Association conference in 2023, all three northern mayors, Andy Burnham, Steve Rotheram and Tracey Brabin, agreed.