Industry prepares for third HospoDemo protest

At 10.30am on Monday 14 November, members of the hospitality industry will converge on Parliament Square, urging the government to revise existing policies relating to hospitality venues. 

The third HospoDemo protest in two years will bring professionals from across the sector, including restaurants, bars, pubs, clubs, hotels and cafés, together. Dressed in their work uniforms, demonstrators will come equipped with pots, pans, ladles, cocktail shakers, wooden spoons, last order bells and other industry-related tools they will use to make themselves heard. At 11am, all protestors will turn to face the Houses of Parliament and make as much noise as possible, before marching on to HM Treasury to fo the same. 

HospoDemo is expecting a large turnout due to the perilous position so many hospitality businesses now find themselves in. Operators are still reeling from the loss of business during three Covid-driven lockdowns and the enormous rent debt accrued during that time. Since then, the sector has also had to contend with ongoing labour shortages, followed by the onslaught of the cost of living crisis and spiralling costs of supplies – from fresh produce to cooking oil, staff costs to crockery and classware and surging energy prices. 

Monday's protest will centre around three main demands to the government, with the primary aim being a VAT reduction to 10% on food and drink sales, including alcohol sales, putting the UK in line with many European neighbours. Protestors will also urge the government to reinstate the business rates holiday, and are demanding ministers to introduce a visa scheme to allow overseas candidates to work in hospitality – an attempt to plug the labour shortage that started with Brexit and was compounded by the pandemic.

According to a flash poll by the Night Time Industries Association, three out of four (48%) hospitality businesses surveyed are either barely breaking even or losing money (25%). Not only this, but 23% of businesses claim they will not last more than a few months under current operating cost levels, and 81% of venue owners said they have seen footfall decrease, with 82% seeing revenue decline in the last three months of trading. 

Prominent attendees  from previous HospoDemo protests include chefs Yotam Ottolenghi, Jason Atherton, Tom Aikens, Fergus Henderson and Margot Henderson, along with well-known figures from the drinks industry, such as Monica Berg, Alex Kratena, Allessandro Palazzi and Jan Konetzki. 

Chef Tom Kerridge says of the upcoming demonstration: "The situation hospitality businesses are facing now is nothing short of a nightmare. I fully support HospoDemo in its efforts to make the government accountable by urging them to make policy changes such as a 10% VAT reduction, a business rates holiday and an overseas worker visa system. The question is, how many more hospitality businesses need to fall before the government takes action and gives our sector proper support?"

You may also be interested in…