The Wonky Table

“We all have have one wonky table“
Representing Hospitality Businesses across the UK fighting for a VAT cut
Fdr. @andyjlennox
#VatinlinewithEurope

[Overmyheadphotography @Overmyheadphoto]

Hmm @Sacha_Lord not one mention of VAT🫤

[No Farmers, No Food @NoFarmsNoFoods]

The British countryside is a national treasure.

Farmers work from dawn to dusk every day to feed the nation and maintain the landscapes that we love. It’s time we backed them properly. Buy British. Support our farmers.

No farmers, no food.
Simple as that.

[UKHospitality @UKHofficial]

In Parliament @BenMaguireMP spoke about the high tax burden on the sector and called for a long term VAT cut for hospitality.

“NICs are going up, wage costs are going up, energy costs are going up.”

Join the campaign for a VAT cut here 👉 https://t.co/MEDVqI2nlS

[Andy Lennox @andyjlennox]

Great to see the industry united behind one simple ask #VatinlinewithEurope follow #Vatstheproblem for details of how to get involved #VatCut #Hospitality #NotIfbutWhen

[UKHospitality @UKHofficial]

Thank you @LibDemDavid for raising the impact of business rates revaluations on the high street and calling for a cut for VAT.

“Local business are all telling me exactly the same thing which is that they’re taking a hammering.”

Join our campaign for a VAT cut for hospitality 👇 https://t.co/wtQRPN2te1

[Andy Lennox @andyjlennox]

Stage 1 ✅
Stage 2 ✅
Stage 3 ✅
Stage 4 - 📨
Stage 5 - ✌️

#Hospitality #Vatinlinewitheurope #noifbutwhen #VatCut #V

[Andy Lennox @andyjlennox]

50 MPs.

The campaign to bring Hospitality VAT in line with Europe has now reached another milestone, with 50 MPs backing EDM 65944.

This is no longer a niche issue. It is now a cross-party parliamentary campaign.

The question is simple.

Is your MP one of the 50?

If not, why not?

Hospitality employs over 3 million people, supports every high street, every town and every tourist destination in the country.

If your MP hasn’t signed, ask them where they stand.

#VATsTheProblem #VATInlineWithEurope #Hospitality #Pubs #Restaurants #Hotels #Tourism

https://t.co/P1UaHZqxV3

[Andy Lennox @andyjlennox]

🚨 Hospitality VAT campaign passes major milestones

EDM (Early Day Motion) 65944 has reached milestone of over 40 MPs and support from nearly every major political party in Westminster.

At the same time, the wider #VATsTheProblem campaign has hit over 200,000 supporters, showing growing public and political backing for VAT for hospitality in line with Europe.

Momentum is building. One industry. One ask.

#VATsTheProblem #VATInlineWithEurope #Hospitality #Pubs #Restaurants #Tourism

https://t.co/P1UaHZr5KB

https://t.co/TVozcVPae7

[Rosie Duffield MP @RosieDuffield1]

At #PMQs, I had a chance to press @Keir_Starmer on @UKHofficial's campaign to reduce 20% VAT on hospitality businesses, the highest in the EU, which is forcing many to close. #VATsTheProblem please sign Tom Kerridge's petition below. Thanks to @Sacha_Lord, @andyjlennox and others

[Andy Lennox @andyjlennox]

Thanks to the @thechefsforum & the lovely @catmfarinha for a lovely piece on #Vatinlinewitheurope and the as we move to the next phase #Vatstheproblem

#Hospitality #Vat #Cutvat

https://t.co/kwF4TG4W2t

[Andy Lennox @andyjlennox]

I’ve spent years talking about the need for hospitality to unite behind one clear ask. Over the last eight months I’ve pushed harder because I genuinely believe that without a united industry, a VAT cut simply won’t happen. The last couple of days have been significant.

For the first time Hospitality has finally united behind a common message.

Over the last couple of months the industry has come together there has been broad agreement around a simple principle: Hospitality needs VAT in line with Europe and we all need to get behind that. (Finally!)

Not ten different messages. One industry. One ask.

It was also a proud moment to have my statement read at the latest Hospitality Roundtable by the ever-supportive Hospitality champion @rosieduffieldmp_offi not to mention a lovely mention in the House.

Having spent years campaigning for this cause, it felt like big step forward in what has been a long journey.

That moment has arrived. The trade bodies have united and the brilliant @cheftomkerridge & @UKHofficial has spearheaded a new #VATsTheProblem campaign alongside all the major trade bodies.

The reality is that major change only happens when operators, trade bodies, suppliers, campaigners, politicians and influential voices come together behind a common purpose. That’s been our main aim.

Hospitality is the UK’s third largest employer. We create careers, support communities, drive tourism, fill our high streets and generate billions for the economy. Yet we continue to operate with one of the highest hospitality VAT rates in Europe.

That cannot continue forever.

For the first time everyone is moving as one and I genuinely believe the industry now has the momentum, support and unity needed to deliver meaningful change.

This campaign now needs every pub, restaurant, café, hotel, nightclub, attraction, supplier and hospitality professional to get behind it.

Because this is no longer about individual businesses.

It is about the future of hospitality itself.

It is no longer a question of if. It is a question of when.

United we stand. Divided we fall.

#VATsTheProblem #VATInlineWithEurope #CutVAT #Hospitality

[ThatPubChick 🥂 @pub_that]

Squse me what? We’ve had April Fools haven’t we?

Is this one of those things that Gov now want us to start campaigning against so we take our eye off the real issue of VAT. They’ll then do a U turn & claim they’re saving us millions on tax that never existed in the first place?

[Andy Lennox @andyjlennox]

Pubs are being squeezed to bits #Hospitality #CutVat #V https://t.co/xbseYNmgA8

[Andy Lennox @andyjlennox]

The “lost generation” could be employed if Hospitality Vat was cut in line with Europe to 13% or lower #VatCut #Hospitality #V https://t.co/VxddeJMtqz

[Andy Lennox @andyjlennox]

Various campaigns, various asks but ALL with a common theme - there is growing consensus now around the need for a cut to Vat.

In all their recent statements the following have called for VAT to be brought into line with European levels to deliver fairness for hospitality

It can’t be ignored that Hospitality organisations are calling for a #VATCUT

#VATINLINEWITHEUROPE #HOSPITALITY #NOTIFBUTWHEN

[Andy Lennox @andyjlennox]

Incredibly proud to have been re-elected to the @DMBDestination Tourism Board for a second term.

I love where I live and will continue to do everything to push our area forward.

@bmouthofficial @lovepooleuk @LoveXchurch @bptourismuk @DorsetTourism @visit_dorset

Senior industry figure re-elected to lead key tourism board across BCP area https://t.co/H6beQ0RL5H

[UKHospitality @UKHofficial]

This is the impact of the UK having one of the highest hospitality tax burdens in Europe. It puts our restaurants, pubs and many more at a significant competitive disadvantage and deters investment.

We need VAT for hospitality to be cut.

Read more from Kate Nicholls @UKHospKate, our Chair, in The Guardian:
https://t.co/SbpK8HEMYL

[GB News @GBNEWS]

‘Hospitality is on its knees.’

Landlord of The Old Thatch in Wimborne, Andy Lennox, believes that youth unemployment is at an 11-year high due to struggles in the hospitality industry, which isn’t able to employ as it once did, because of higher business costs.

[Robert Richardson FIH MI @RBWR]

Only in Manchester would I meet an astrophysicist who retrained to join the vibrant hospitality scene offered by this great city.

That was just one of many takeaways from this week’s Institute of Hospitality networking event, where we asked the question: “What drives hospitality success in the North?”

Thank you to my panellists, Sacha Lord FIH, Laura Green, Stewart Morrell MIH, and Jonathan Baillie, for such a valuable discussion covering the incredible diversity of talent, passion, and opportunity that continues to shape hospitality across the region, alongside the excitement surrounding Andy Burnham’s vision for not just the city, but the country.

Following the event, it was a pleasure to catch up with our Chair, Martin Traynor OBE FIH, and @Sacha_Lord over dinner, discussing exciting future plans for our global #HospitalityFamily.

Manchester is such a vital part of the UK’s hospitality and tourism industry, and it is always a huge pleasure to spend time with our members in this vibrant city. Thank you to my colleagues Aymen Fetouak MIH and Emma Ellis MIH, for managing this latest opportunity to meet our members in the North.

#imin #MeetingOurMembers #Manchester #StrongerTogether

[The Wonky Table @wonky_table]

@AngusAllan66 @allen_m_simpson #CutVatinlinewithEurope