Weston-super-Mare’s newly elected MP Dan Aldridge has joined forces with over two dozen parliamentarians, including MP Chris Webb, in an urgent plea to slash VAT for the hospitality industry before this month’s budget. Their open letter to the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, demands an immediate reduction of VAT from the current 20% to ease the financial strain on businesses.
The letter highlights widespread distress among hospitality and tourism operators nationwide: “Whether rural pubs, seaside hotels, city-centre restaurants or visitor attractions, the consistent message is that soaring costs and heavy tax burdens are stifling investment, job creation, and the revival of local high streets.”
Aldridge, Labour’s first MP for Weston, stressed the vital role that local cafes, pubs, and hospitality businesses play in the town’s economy. “Weston’s hospitality sector is the beating heart of our community. Yet increasing expenses, staff shortages, and unfair taxes threaten its survival.”
He added: “Cutting VAT and reforming the broken business rates system would provide the essential relief businesses need to recover and thrive.”
The urgency is underlined by a recent report revealing that North Somerset loses a licensed premise roughly every two weeks. John Crockford-Hawley, chair of the council’s licensing committee, remarked, “Going out for a beer has become costly, leading many to stay home and only venture out once.”
Weston has already felt the impact; iconic local businesses like Winstons fish and chip shop closed their doors earlier this year, while the Bay Café shuttered as the Tropicana building undergoes renovation.
As Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Hospitality and Tourism and a member of the Business and Trade Committee, Aldridge is committed to amplifying voices from towns like Weston in Westminster. “Hospitality is a cornerstone not only for jobs and skills but for our community’s identity and future prosperity. Supporting it is critical.”
The open letter also received support from Yeovil MP Adam Dance and Somerton and Frome MP Sarah Dyke, both Liberal Democrats, signaling cross-party concern about the sector’s challenges.