Tom Kerridge hails Andy Burnham for Manchester's 'incredible' food scene but warns Reeves’ VAT is crippling Britain's pubs
The TV Chef said the Manchester Mayor "understands" hospitalty while some in the Treasury do not.
Celebrity Chef Tom Kerridge has told LBC Andy Burnham is largely to thank for Manchester's “incredible cultural food scene”- but warned Rachel Reeves’ VAT charge risks crippling Britain’s hospitality industry.
Listen to this article
The TV chef, who owns multiple restaurants and gastropubs across Britain, has hit out at the Chancellor for imposing a 20 per cent VAT rate on the hospitality sector.
Speaking to LBC, Mr Kerridge warned this policy risks running the industry into the ground, while in Europe it is given the chance to flourish due to far lower VAT rates.
But while many pubs and restaurants up and down the UK are at risk of closing down, Mr Kerridge says the hospitality sector in Manchester is “moving forward” and has “growth potential”.
He said the city’s former mayor, Andy Burnham, has had a key role to play.
“A prime example in this country of a city that has grown and done very, very well over the past five, 10 years is somewhere like Manchester, where it's got this incredible cultural food scene,” Mr Kerridge said.
Read more: Starmer backs Burnham for by-election victory insisting he'll have a 'big role in Government'
Read more: Tom Kerridge is learning that 'labour values' don't include helping pubs
He added: ”It's got a brilliant opportunity market space there for business growth that's coming in, whether it's through the financial sector, through the property sector… it's embracing all sorts of different industries that are becoming a part of that city.”
Mr Kerridge said this makes it “exciting and makes it feel that it's got growth potential”.
“It's moving forward, whereas a lot of the other parts of the country feel that they're stagnating. Manchester has then built and has an understanding of a food scene, and it is embraced and it is encouraged. Now what we need is that kind of vibe going through for the rest of the country,” he added.
He highlighted his favourite eats in the city including Pollen Bakery.
Mr Kerridge said."It is an exceptional bakery to the point that we use their bread at The Hand & Flowers (a two Michelin star restaurant he owns).
"Skof and Mana are both brilliant restaurants, each having their own Michelin star. Higher ground bistro is really creative and a fun place to eat"
He said a lot of Manchester's successes are "down to Andy Burnham and what he's done in that position as being Mayor of Manchester.”
Mr Burnham has an “understanding” of the hospitality sector, he said, pointing out that the Manchester Mayor has previously argued dropping “VAT would be very, very good for hospitality.”
It comes as Mr Burnham announced his intention to run as Prime Minister after Sir Keir Starmer's resignation. The former Manchester mayor was sworn in as an MP on Monday.
The celeb chef is now spearheading a campaign, ‘VAT’s the Problem’, calling on the Government to lower the VAT on the hospitality sector to 10 per cent.
Currently, the UK pays one of the highest rates in Europe at 20 per cent. France, Spain and Italy all charge 10 per cent, while Germany charges 7 per cent.
Mr Kerridge said: “The majority of hospitality spaces that we all love and that we all use are independent, individual landlords and individual operators.
“And where you've got rising fuel costs and utility bills through inflation, where you've got food inflation, both of those have gone up anywhere between 40 per cent and 70 per cent over the last 5 years. Actually, some utility bills have over doubled.
“So you then add that into the mix with an increase to National Insurance, minimum wage, and business rates. All of a sudden, all of those [profit] margins have been completely eradicated.”
While businesses are struggling, Mr Kerridge said that has nothing to do with people eating out less amid a cost of living crisis.
He said: “What's happened is that there is no margin anymore. And it's not through the lack of customers. Customers are coming through the door, although numbers may be down, it's not like places are super empty. It is the cost of running those spaces with guests in.
“That's where the big issue is now, that they're just not existing. And you've got many of these independent and small-scale spaces that are now people putting their life savings in or people just giving up and it's just going, ‘we just cannot cope or operate with this anymore’.”