London’s hospitality scene is the envy of the world.
Our pubs, restaurants, cafes and hotels are not just places to eat and drink - they are where deals are struck, friendships are forged, and memories are made. They are the heartbeat of our high streets and the calling card of our capital.
That is why it should ring alarm bells across Westminster that one of Britain’s greatest success stories is now fighting for survival.
From Soho to Shoreditch, from family cafes to world-famous restaurants, the message is the same. Costs are soaring, taxes are rising, and business confidence is draining away.
If Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves do not wake up quickly, the danger is simple. The lights will go out across parts of Britain’s hospitality sector - and once they are gone, they may never come back.
The London Standard is absolutely right to launch its Save Our Hospitality campaign. Because this is not just an industry story. It is a national one.
Hospitality employs millions of people across the UK. For many young people it is their first job, their first pay packet, their first step on the ladder – it was for me.
It keeps our high streets alive, draws tourists from around the world and pumps billions into the economy. And yet, right now, this vital sector feels like it is being squeezed from every direction.
When I left university, I didn’t go straight into politics. I created businesses. And I had Nigel Lawson cutting my taxes and removing the red tape. The whole spirit of that time was one of enterprise and opportunity.
Today, too many entrepreneurs feel the exact opposite.
After the pandemic, many hospitality businesses were already carrying huge Covid loans just to stay afloat. Then came the energy price shock triggered by Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, sending costs spiralling through the supply chain.
Food costs rose. Energy bills soared. Staffing shortages pushed up wages. Customers - facing their own cost-of-living pressures - started going out less.
Even so, the industry battled through. That is what hospitality people do. They adapt. They innovate. They keep the doors open.
But just as businesses began to see light at the end of the tunnel, along came the taxman.
In her first Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves hit employers with a huge increase in National Insurance to fund even more welfare - a move that falls especially hard on sectors like hospitality that employ large numbers of part-time and lower-paid workers.
Then came the business rates shock.
Across the country, pubs, restaurants and hotels opened their new valuations to discover eye-watering increases. Some are doubling. Others are rising by far more.
In London, the impact is particularly brutal because property values are higher and the system punishes businesses for being successful.
Now, with uncertainty in the Middle East, we could be on the edge of another very significant economic shock.
Pubs and restaurants are staring down the barrel of Armageddon April thanks to Rachel Reeves’ choices. For many businesses the burden of Labour’s tax rises is simply too much to bear.
Industry estimates suggest thousands of pubs, restaurants and hotels could disappear this year alone. That is not creative destruction. That is economic self-harm.
Ministers have announced limited help for pubs. But hospitality is an ecosystem. You cannot save the pub while letting the restaurant, the café and the hotel sink.
A tourist who visits London does not just come for a pint. They stay in a hotel. They eat in a restaurant. They grab a coffee the next morning.
When one part of the chain breaks, the whole system suffers. And that’s even before Labour’s Tourist Taxes come in.
That is why we need serious reform - not another sticking plaster.
As a direct result of getting public spending under control, a future Conservative government will completely abolish business rates for thousands of restaurants, cafes and pubs on our high streets.
That is the scale of ambition we need if we are serious about breathing life back into our high streets.
Because a thriving hospitality sector means more jobs, more investment and more vibrant communities. It means high streets that are busy and welcoming, not boarded up and fading away.
Get it wrong, and the consequences will be visible in every town and city. Darkened shopfronts, lost jobs and communities stripped of the places that bring people together.
Britain does many things well. Hospitality is one of them. From neighbourhood cafes to Michelin-starred restaurants, from historic pubs to world-class hotels, we have built something extraordinary.
But extraordinary things can be lost if governments take them for granted.
So my message to Rachel Reeves is simple. Listen to the chefs, the publicans, the baristas and the hoteliers. Listen to the thousands of small business owners who keep our high streets alive.
And most of all, act - before last orders are called on one of Britain’s greatest industries.
Sir Mel Stride is Shadow Chancellor, of the Exchequer
