Top chefs back Andy Burnham’s hospitality tax changes

Greater Manchester Mayor and Labour by-election candidate Andy Burnham has pledged to slash taxes for hospitality businesses – including National Minimum Wage Contributions (NICs) and value-added tax (VAT) – if he becomes prime minister.

Burnham’s promises come as businesses continue to struggle with rising labour costs, soaring energy prices, food inflation, and ongoing staff shortages – all of which have squeezed margins across the hospitality sector.

Now, top chefs – including Tom Kerridge, who is leading the #VATstheproblem campaign – are backing Burnham’s plans, in hopes that a future government under his leadership would deliver long-promised tax reforms, ease cost pressures, and offer a more stable operating environment for pubs and restaurants across the country.

Burnham sets out hospitality tax overhaul plans

On Friday, Burnham – who is the Mayor of Greater Manchester and running as Labour’s candidate in the Makerfield by-election – announced he would reverse a series of tax rises that have hit small businesses since the Labour Party came into power.

This includes permanently reducing business rates for pubs by 20%, cutting NICs, and slashing VAT from 20% to 10%. 

While the current Labour Government have introduced support packages for small hospitality businesses – including a 15% cut in business rates for pub businesses and a temporary VAT reduction on children’s menu items over the summer – many hospitality firms have criticised these moves as not being enough to offset the continued pressures of high operating costs.

Burnham stated: “Our high streets matter to me because they matter to the people who live here. I want to make sure that these family-owned businesses, as the heart and soul of this country, are protected and given the chance to thrive.

“I am willing to be honest about where we have fallen short – and say that my party has got this wrong in the government. They have undervalued the contribution these businesses make to our livelihoods and our communities.”

Burnham’s plans backed by leading chefs and industry figures

Several top chefs have backed Burnham’s plans, with hopes that he becomes prime minister so that he can push through more ambitious reforms to the hospitality industry.

This includes Tom Kerridge, leader of the #VATstheproblem campaign, which calls for a permanent cut to VAT from 20% to 10%. Since its launch, the campaign has reached over 192,000 signatures, making it one of the most widely supported industry-led petitions to gain traction in recent years.

“Andy Burnham has backed a cut to VAT, and as Manchester mayor, he represents one of the most vibrant and exciting cities in the UK with a growing food scene,” Kerridge told The Guardian. “This is somebody who understands nightlife, food, hospitality and entertainment; he sees it as the lifeblood of creativity.”

Other chefs have also welcomed Burnham’s position on VAT and other taxes, including Thomasina Miers, co-founder of restaurant chain Wahaca, who believes the current Labour leadership didn’t understand the sector in the same way, particularly when it came to high employment costs from raising National Insurance.

Miers told The Guardian: “The government has clobbered young people, it feels so misguided, they talk about helping the worker, but every policy they are doing is making it harder for people to get to work.”

Why this matters for hospitality businesses

If Andy Burnham were to become prime minister, this would mean hospitality businesses could see a reversal of recent tax and cost pressures, which could improve profit margins, stabilise employment, and encourage long-term investment across the sector.

After all, cutting VAT had the strongest level of support from hospitality businesses, with 89% of firms calling for a permanent reduction. A reform to business rates and NICs was also highly supported by 74% and 65% of firms, respectively.

In terms of employment opportunities, it’s been reported that hospitality has suffered more than half of all job losses since the Autumn Budget last year, with almost 89,000 jobs being cut as a result of the increase in employer NICs. In more drastic cases, one in seven businesses will be forced to close.

From this, it’s clear that a permanent reform is desperately needed for hospitality businesses, and Burnham’s potential new powers could finally deliver the kind of long-term policy changes the sector has been calling for.

Unemployment – which reached 5% in May 2026 – could also begin to ease if businesses are able to afford more permanent staff. Other investments, such as expansion into new sites, refurbishing existing venues or adopting new equipment, could also become more viable if businesses get better financial stability.

However, given the damage hospitality has taken from these tax increases, it remains to be seen whether Burnham’s promises will actually translate into meaningful policy change quickly enough to reverse recent closures, restore investor confidence, and give businesses operating under tight margins that much-needed relief. And, of course, there’s still a hotly contested by-election that needs to be won for this to even have a chance of becoming reality.

Discover the ales and ails of hospitality

Planet of the Grapes founder Matt Harris has over 25 years of experience in hospitality. Read his bi-monthly column for Startups now.

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