The high-stakes drama of a global trade war vies for attention alongside Keir Starmer’s EU reset, looming interest rate decisions and Nigel Farage’s lead in the opinion polls. News is fast-paced, and the focus quickly shifts.
Politicians are often the first to want to 'draw a line under it' and move forward; whether the 'it' refers to Starmer's potential breach of 2020 lockdown rules or his government's disastrous October budget, as reported by .
Thankfully, politicians don't have the final say on when a story loses its relevance.
For this reason, we spotlight on our front page today an issue that once dominated discussions before being overshadowed by newer or bigger news; the crisis facing the º£½ÇÊÓƵ’s hospitality industry.
According to industry body º£½ÇÊÓƵHospitality, the sector employs 3.5 million people and contributes nearly £100bn to the º£½ÇÊÓƵ economy, including over £50bn in tax receipts.
These figures represent some massive companies, both private and listed, numerous family-run groups and tens of thousands of smaller, independent operators.
However, they all face the same hurdles; tight margins, inflation-driven cost increases, overheads, high labour costs and – collectively – a large number of relatively low-paid staff.
These factors make it a challenging sector even in the best of times, and these are not the best of times.
The industry has strongly opposed the tax and labour cost changes announced in the Budget, but their concerns seem to have been ignored.
From April, nearly 800,000 hospitality workers will be subject to employer national insurance contributions, adding an estimated £1bn burden on the sector.
This has led to job cuts, recruitment freezes, reduced opening hours, cancelled investments, or even permanent closures for some establishments.
Manchester-based hospitality entrepreneur Sacha Lord expressed his concerns in a poignant letter to Rachel Reeves, stating, "this is not just about businesses, it’s about jobs, livelihoods, and communities, and time is running out."
The industry has proposed measures to the Treasury to mitigate the NICs changes' impact, yet there seems to be little response.
Despite the Chancellor claiming that growth is her "number one mission" and justifying the distressing tax changes as necessary for public finances, the hospitality sector remains unconvinced, as do I.
Reeves may wish to look ahead, but the harm inflicted by her decisions six months ago should not be overlooked.
