Celebrity chef Tom Kerridge makes direct appeal to Andy Burnham to help save pubs and restaurants

Celebrity chef Tom Kerridge makes direct appeal to Andy Burnham to help save pubs and restaurants The hospitality sector has stepped up calls for the government to slash VAT for the sector amid evidence that almost a quarter of firms are loss making Celebrity chef Tom Kerridge says he is “very hopeful” Andy Burnham will halve VAT for pubs and restaurants as PM. The TV star revealed he had spoken to Mr Burnham’s team about slashing the tax for hospitality operators after the former Mayor of Manchester showed support for the idea. It has left the industry increasingly optimistic a cut could be implemented given Mr Burnham is expected to replace Sir Keir Starmer as PM next month. “We will keep the conversation going and ensure he doesn’t do a U-turn,” Mr Kerridge told the Mirror. “We are very hopeful. From my experience with Andy, we know he is a huge supporter of hospitality. He understands that hospitality is the lifeblood, the beating heart, of communities.” Mr Kerridge also praised the Mirror's Your Pub Needs You campaign - which is championing the industry need for help - calling it "magic". The hospitality sector says halving VAT on the sector from 20% to 10% would give operators much needed breathing space after a wave of cost hikes and bring the UK into line with many other countries. However, the Treasury say it would cost more than £10billion in lost tax receipts. Tax expert Dan Neidle has also branded the move “incredibly stupid”, arguing most of the benefit would go to big business, with fast food giant McDonald’s getting a £450million boost, and 45% of the hospitality industry paying no VAT anyway. Pub and restaurant owner Mr Kerridge claimed the £10billion of lost taxes from halving VAT was a “spreadsheet number”. He claimed this did not take account of the money being put back into growing businesses, as well as saving those which, it is argued, will otherwise fail. “We have 21 businesses shutting very week - that’s 21 businesses that aren’t bringing any money into the Exchequer,” he said. “This is about long term growth.” He acknowledged that big businesses would be among those winners from a tax cut, but added: “Do you care about McDonald’s making a bit more money or about your local pub or your coffee shop or your independent restaurant?" The chef, who is backing a VATsTheProblem campaign, claimed halving the tax would “100%” make the difference between some hospitality businesses surviving in the current climate. "The top line costs that have come in are absolutely huge," he added. "You've got business rates, food inflation, utility bills and the minimum wage. Those are cost increases you cannot pass on to guests. It's a real fine line between operational profit and places closing." It came as survey by trade bodies UKHospitality, the British Beer and Pub Association, the British Institute of Innkeeping and Hospitality Ulster revealed almost a quarter of firms in the sector are operating at a loss, up from one in seven three months ago, and 5% say their business is no longer viable. Nick Mackenzie, boss of pub giant Greene King, said it was likely to use any savings from a VAT cut to put back into the business rather than reduce prices for customers. Greene King is owned by Hong King billionaire Li Ka-shing’s conglomerate. “There are businesses - particularly smaller businesses - that need this breathing space to be able to firstly survive and then grow in the future,” he said. “If a business closes down, that means the government is getting less in tax take. If you can reverse that and get into net growth, than that will create more tax revenue and more jobs.”