Here’s why you should
London today is widely recognised as having some of the best restaurants in the world. And across the UK, hospitality is now the third largest employer.
Restaurants matter. Like pubs, these are places where we experience a sense of place, pride, pleasure and celebration. Unlike pubs, the government has done nothing to help them. As a result, 2026 could be the year of a restaurant recession, with the industry group UK Hospitality predicting almost 1,000 closures. Many of these places will be busy but broke.
Restaurant owners, like everyone else, face the pressures of high rents, retail and energy costs but these are combined with rising taxes in a labour intensive industry. Employer National Insurance contributions increased in 2025 and, from this April, we’ll see a big jump in Business Rates.
Then there’s VAT which at 20% is persistently high, more than double the average for the EU. These conditions push up prices, which in turn is lowering demand for eating out.
According to some data we’re already looking at two restaurant closures a day. If this trend continues the net result will be further decline of our high streets, growing unemployment, lost tax revenue and a slide backward into culinary obscurity. Sure, the UK will still have Greggs – whose loophole of serving pasties at room temperature means they avoid paying VAT – and large chains like McDonalds and Wetherspoons will hold on. But it could soon be twilight for the neighbourhood spot that made you fall in love with ramen, or the brilliant opening in Central that sent waves of inspiration through our flourishing food scene.
It doesn’t have to end here. London On The Inside is joining forces with a network of independent restaurant owners, cooks and passionate eaters to call on the government to lower VAT to 12.5% – in line with the European average. Small businesses and celebrity chefs, campaigners and influencers, plus the vast amount of public opinion, already support this change. Our plan is to bring these voices together.
There’s a progressive case to be made for lowering VAT – a flat rate of tax that applies to rich and poor equally – but so far no one is making it and Labour (as well as the Greens) are being left behind. Sure, the government recently showed a small token of support for pubs, but what about the rest of hospitality? What about ensuring this industry is part of what makes this country a great place to live?
Join the movement by sending a letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Minister for Small Business and Economic Transformation Blair McDougall asking for a reduction in VAT for the hospitality sector. The letter is already written, all you have to do is add your details here. It takes just two minutes to make your voice heard.
London On The Inside will also be hosting an in-person event, email jules@londontheinside.com if you want to get involved.
Lewis Bassett is a chef at Llewelyn’s in Herne Hill. His book ‘The Full English: The Ways We Eat and Why’ will be published by Verso in autumn.
