Member of Parliament for Epping Forest, Dr Neil Hudson, has strongly criticised the Labour Government for its economic mismanagement and the damaging impact this is having on hospitality businesses in Epping Forest and up and down the country.
Following the Chancellor’s disastrous Budget, new data from the S&P Global UK Services PMI have revealed stark consequences for the sector. Workforce numbers in services fell again in August, marking the eleventh consecutive month of decline, the longest sustained contraction since the global financial crisis, excluding the pandemic.
The report also highlighted that input costs have “increased sharply” due to the Government’s Jobs Tax, further piling pressure on already struggling employers.
Speaking in a Conservative-led debate on the Hospitality Sector in the House of Commons, Dr Hudson drew attention to the impact on local pubs and restaurants in Epping Forest, warning that Labour’s taxation policies are harming communities as well as businesses.
In the Chamber, Dr Hudson said:
“My hon. Friend is rightly articulating that hospitality businesses are the lifeblood of our communities. Epping Forest has fantastic local pubs, such as the Theydon Oak, the Forest Gate Inn and the Bull, and fantastic restaurants such as Mila and the India Grill in Loughton. They are all really suffering under the punitive taxation regime from the Labour Government—the jobs tax and the business rates rises. Does he agree that everything they are doing is damaging our local communities?”
Following the debate, Dr Hudson commented:
“This Government’s reckless economic approach is stifling growth, driving up costs for businesses, and costing hardworking people their jobs.
"The hospitality sector is at the heart of our community, and here in Epping Forest, we are blessed with so many excellent restaurants, pubs and cafés. Yet Labour’s punitive policies are putting these businesses at risk.
“I am calling on the Chancellor to urgently change course before more livelihoods are lost.”
