Liverpool restaurant boss’s budget plea: help us thrive instead of pushing us out of business 

Respected Liverpool restaurant boss Paul Askew has made an impassioned plea to chancellor Rachel Reeves ahead of next week’s budget.

The owner and chef patron of The Art School and newly-opened Barnacle says:

“If you help us to survive and thrive instead of putting us out of business we can grow quickly, we can employ people, and we can do great things to help make the country more productive.”

But he warns:

“If you continue on the same path, we are going to be a rarity.

“You and the Labour Government are making it impossible to run a business in the hospitality sector and that’s why more and more people are giving it up. 

“We will become a dying breed. 

“But we CAN do a good job for you if you let us.”

Paul, whose Art School Restaurant is one of the city’s most feted fine dining restaurants, was speaking ahead of the budget next Wednesday, and he fears:

“From the sounds of it, they’re going to continue to do the opposite of what we believe they should do. They seem to think that the way to go is to increase the minimum wage again, to increase taxes, and to look at ways of getting companies and individuals to pay more, rather than supporting businesses and people who can employ more people and grow a business.

“If the economy was booming and businesses were making lots of money, we would be able to pay a higher wage, and we’d love to. I would love to pay my staff as much as possible, and I always have.

“But when a business is struggling because the economy’s not right, how on earth can you just expect them to carry on paying when there’s nothing coming back the other way?”

Along with UKHospitality’s TaxedOut campaign Paul is calling for a lower VAT rate, changes to National Insurance contributions, and reduced business rates, with the goal of boosting jobs and helping businesses.

“We need business rates reform because the high street is dying and it’s disproportionately affecting hospitality and visitor economy businesses,” he says. “We are also asking for a cap and a reduction ideally of the NI contributions because we are losing people from employment. 

“We have lost 130,000 jobs in UK hospitality since they increased NICs, and I would love to know what the Liverpool City Region version of that is.

“We have been asking governments to look at VAT on food for more than a decade.  If I buy a side of beef and I have an artisan take that off the bone, make stock from the bone, and do an amazing dish with it, I have to pay 20% on that. I haven’t paid vat on the way in because there’s no VAT on food, but the minute I prepare it, I have to pay 20%.

“In other European countries it’s between 7% and 13% – so let’s at least have parity with them!

“Otherwise, what happens is people buy bought-in things.  Pre-portioned beef. Pre-portioned fish. Ready made bread, Ready made desserts. It’s de-skilling the industry and why should we be penalised when we are the artisans trying to do things properly?

“It’s the artisans who are trying to employ people, and keep skills going, trying to give the best experience and the best food, and yet we are paying more than supermarkets who are selling processed food which is tax free.  The supermarkets are making billions, and yet we struggle to make a buck.”

Paul adds:

“The minute you increase inflation and energy bills and NI and all the other things, there are no margins big enough in hospitality to pay more. We are all working on 10% if we’re doing it well, because we are labour intensive, because we do it all fresh.

“I can’t understand a Government that wouldn’t want us to take more people from college, employ more people who can pay normal PAYE and normal NI, not ridiculous levels, and get the economy growing again.”

Lack of support for hospitality will, Paul says, hit Liverpool more than most.

“Liverpool is a visitor economy city. It’s known for its amazing music and architecture, a great meal and a great night out, but if you lose the assets and all the independent restaurants, you become like any other city with a group of chain restaurants and no personality.  What’s the point of that?  

“That’s not us. That’s Liverpool’s strength. It’s our DNA. It’s what we are. We’re hospitable people. And we’re bloody good at giving people a good time and looking after them, but if we’re not allowed to do that, it’s going to be bleak.”

Paul, who’s calling for people to write to their MPs and Liverpool Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram asking them show their support for hospitality, gave a letter to Rachel Reeves during her visit to the city for the Labour Party Conference.

“But I received no reply,” he continues.

“Instead of ignoring what we are saying, come and talk to the industry experts. We can help. 

“I have been doing this job for 45 years and it’s worse now than it was during Covid. At least we got some support during Covid.

“The Labour Party is hanging us out to dry and the choices being made are discriminatory against our sector.”

Find out more about Paul Askew’s restaurant Barnacle here.

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