Another week, another new resident of 10 Downing Street – at least the removals trade in SW1 is in rude health. The hospitality sector by contrast continues to battle against soaring costs, labour shortages and falling consumer confidence. Data from CGA and AlixPartners shows hospitality lost a combined 2,200 sites across July, August and September, a rate of over 24 closures a day.
It’s not alone among struggling UK industry sectors – retail sales are also on the slide – and so it was understandable why Rishi Sunak’s first speech outside the famous black door was noticeably devoid of the boosterish rhetoric of his two most recent predecessors. Sunak explained how the country is facing “a profound economic crisis” and promised to place “economic stability and confidence” at the heart of the new government’s agenda. That meant “difficult decisions to come” according to Sunak who recommitted to delivering the promises of the Conservatives 2019 manifesto including “protecting our environment” and “building an economy that embraces the opportunities of Brexit, where businesses invest, innovate, and create jobs”.
The serious, sober tone was largely welcomed by business leaders. “Food and drink manufacturers are delighted to see Rishi Sunak become prime minister,” said Food and Drink Federation chief executive Karen Betts. She noted how as chancellor Sunak had “ensured businesses had support to continue operating in extremely difficult circumstances, which was critical to the security of the food and drink supply chain” and reiterated her organisation’s call for regulatory reform.
UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said that “now is the time to steady the economy, deliver for the needs of the country and support businesses to help drive growth and create jobs”. She called on Sunak’s government to extend business rates relief, reform the entire business rates system in the longer term and lower the current rate of VAT.
Environmental NGOs were on the whole more circumspect – perhaps they were still digesting the news that unofficial Roundup ambassador Thérèse Coffey has been appointed Defra secretary of state and de facto protector of the UK’s natural environment. Coffey replaces Ranil Jayawardena whose 50-day residence in Nobel House will live in infamy for the remarkable feat of turning hitherto temperate charities like the National Trust and RSPB into firebrand government critics and would-be anarchists.
Coffey is known for her stolid libertarian views, although a previous spell in Defra as a junior minister has given some campaigners cause for cautious optimism over her green agenda. Green Alliance chief executive Shaun Spiers told The Guardian: “Thérèse Coffey has experience at Defra, working with Michael Gove when there was a strong push to show that Britain could be greener outside the EU than as a member state. It’s good that she won’t have to start from scratch and can build on this experience to drive reform forward. In particular, as a minister in Theresa May’s government, she understood the importance of the circular economy, a policy area that has stalled since then.”
In a separate briefing paper, Green Alliance said the new government should prioritise setting ambitious Environment Act targets and withdrawing the controversial Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill which ends the special status of retained EU Law in the UK statute book on December 31st 2023. The NGO said the bill risked derailing urgent action to tackle the nature and climate crisis and undermining food standards.
Amid the political pantomime the pressures facing those that produce, sell and consume food are becoming more fraught by the week. Food and drink price inflation hit 15% in September, according to ONS official data. Even more concerning was new research into the cost of the lowest-priced food items published this week that showed a 17% increase over the past year. The ONS made a point of describing the data collected for 30 everyday grocery items as “highly experimental” and “less robust than official statistics”, but the figures are shocking nonetheless. The prices of 15 items have risen by 15% or more with vegetable oil – a key ingredient for foodservice operators – showing a staggering 46% spike.
It’s little wonder that cash-strapped members of the public are increasingly prepared to play Russian roulette with the safety of their food. Food Standards Agency data found that, for the month of September, 32% of people surveyed reported eating food past its use-by date at least once because they couldn’t afford to buy more food.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. The Conservative Party may finally be ‘ready for Rishi’ but is the man himself ready to deal with the cascading crises facing businesses and the people of this country?
