03/06/2026
We don't usually post about the challenges of running a pub, and we certainly don't like burdening our customers with the realities behind the scenes.
We'd much rather focus on serving great food, great drinks and providing a place for our community to come together.
However, the truth is that hospitality is under ENORMOUS pressure!!!
Pubs, cafés, restaurants and hotels across the country are facing rising costs from every direction. Energy, wages, suppliers, insurance, business rates – the list seems endless.
While we work harder than ever, it becomes increasingly more difficult to make the numbers add up.
That's why we're supporting the campaign, which is calling for VAT on hospitality to be reduced from 20% to 10%.
A reduction in VAT wouldn't be a handout. It would give independent businesses like ours a genuine chance to survive, invest, employ local people, and continue serving the communities that rely on them.
Quite simply, it would give hospitality a fighting chance.
If you enjoy visiting local pubs, restaurants and cafés, please consider taking a moment to sign the petition and show your support.
Every signature helps.
Thank you for supporting local hospitality and businesses like ours. We genuinely couldn't do it without you.
Please sign and share the petition if you can.
Sign the petition right here 👉👉👉 https://www.vatstheproblem.co.uk
Pubs are not closing because people suddenly stopped loving them, they are closing because the numbers no longer add up. We've already seen the news of two beautiful local pubs closing their doors, and rising costs are the sole problem.
Across Plymouth and beyond, pubs, bars, restaurants, brewers and the wider hospitality trade are coming together to call for VAT on hospitality to be reduced from 20% to 10%.
The campaign is called , and it has been launched with the backing of people across the industry, including chef and publican Tom Kerridge.
For local pubs, this is not an abstract argument about tax. It is about whether they can keep the lights on, keep staff employed, keep the pumps pouring and remain part of the communities they serve.
Pubs are already facing rising costs from every direction. Customers are paying more at the bar, landlords are left trying to make impossible figures work, and more independent venues are being pushed towards closure.
A reduction in hospitality VAT would give pubs and other venues breathing space at a time when many desperately need it.
The petition is calling for one million signatures.
I’ll put the link in the comments. Please sign it, share it, and give the people running our pubs a fighting chance.
