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AJ Handley-Rowe -
10th November 2021
AJ Handley-Rowe -
10th November 2021 Robinson’s Brewery among latest to join the crucial ‘VAT’s the Problem campaign’
Danny Jones
In case you missed the news, local Greater Manchester business Robinson’s Brewery are among several big names to join the growing ‘VAT’s the Problem’ hospitality campaign.
The Stockport beer makers are just one of the latest recognisable brands to rally behind the initiative set up by well-known British chef Tom Kerridge.
As well as appearing on the likes of Great British Menu, MasterChef, and Saturday Kitchen, the restaurateur also sadly had to close his Manc restaurant at the Stock Exchange Hotel back in 2022 amid the ever-lingering cost of living crisis, as well as rising energy bills and business rates.
Spearheading this mass petition since the start of June, Kerridge is now being backed up by the likes of Robinson’s and many more who believe the change could prove vital for countless operators within the industry to survive.
Sharing a lengthy statement in the caption of a post on their social media profile, ‘Robbie’s’ wrote: “Hospitality is one of the UK’s greatest success stories. It employs millions of people, gives young people their first jobs, creates lifelong careers, keeps high streets alive and brings communities together.
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“But the sector is under enormous pressure. Rising energy costs. Food inflation. Huge employment costs. Unjust business rates. The highest tax burden in the UK economy. And on top of all of that – a 20% VAT rate that is among the highest in Europe.
“Countries including Spain, Italy, France, Ireland and Germany know how important hospitality is to society, and they know it pays too much tax. That’s why they already support hospitality with lower VAT rates. The UK deserves the same.”
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Proposing – along with their fellow campaigners across the country – for the VAT to be cut in half, they believe that 10% would not only help keep struggling bars, restaurants and more alive, but help further invest in job creation, aid customers when it comes to overall costs, and therefore “strengthen high streets and local communities.”
It isn’t just a case of reducing obstacles for those working within the sector, but an effort to help bring prices down across the board across Great Britain. Those who passionately serve the population are falling short, while those who want to patronise their favourite places can’t make ends meet.
“Because when hospitality businesses close, communities lose far more than places to eat and drink; they lose connection, opportunity and local identity. Help us, help our industry.”
Besides soon-to-be Prime Minister and outgoing Mayor Andy Burnham having been vocal in championing the campaign, others getting behind the movement range from native names like the Third Floor Rising cafe in Afflecks to fellow famous chefs like Scotland’s Tom Kitchin.
Issuing a statement to The Manc, the brewery’s MD for their pubs, William Robinson, went on to add: William Robinson, Managing Director of Pubs, went on to say: “The compounding impact of taxes on pubs and hospitality is really beginning to bite the sector; the changes to National Insurance and National Minimum Wage increases affect hospitality businesses especially hard.
“To be able to invest in our teams and future growth, hospitality needs to be given the same support it receives in other European countries. This will also allow us to employ and invest in younger team members and through that help them to develop skills which they can use throughout their careers.”
You can support the VAT’s the Problem campaign by signing the petition right HERE.
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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE
Featured Images — Robinson’s Brewery (supplied)
A Wigan dad is searching for the ‘hero’ who helped calm his son’s panic attack while on a busy train
Emily Sergeant
A former rugby player from Wigan is searching for the ‘hero’ who came to his son’s aid when he was having a panic attack on a busy train.
Shaun Ainscough – a former rugby player who played for Wigan Warriors at the start of his career from 2009-10 – was on a packed train home from the match between his former team and St Helens at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday 5 July when his son started having a panic attack.
The 11-year-old boy was crying, screaming, shaking, taking his clothes off, and begging to get off the hot train carriage that was full of people travelling home from the match.
“All the fans [on the train] were singing and we were having a laugh, although because we were all stood up, we literally couldn’t sit anywhere,” Shaun explained to the BBC in an interview.
Shaun says he then became overwhelmed with emotion himself as he saw his son in distress, to the point where he also started crying.
But then, a woman – whose name is still unknown – came to the rescue and spent the entire rest of the journey trying to calm the boy, reassuring him with words and using a handheld fan to calm him down.
Shaun has since put out a post on social media – which has been seen by thousands of people – asking for the woman to come forward, as the pair are desperate to thank her in person and ‘give her some flowers’.
“It might not have seemed like a big deal to her but the small act was massive and we just want to say thank you,” Shaun explained.
Read more:
- Police appeal after woman is killed by driving wrong way down M62 near Rochdale
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“She could read something over text, but in person means so much more, and maybe we could give her some flowers just to show how much we appreciated her that day.”
He concluded: “This hero came over and ended up being the strongest person on the train.”
Featured Image – Shaun Ainscough (via Facebook)
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