Yesterday Leon boss John Vincent said Labour is “totally killing the restaurant industry” and that “everyone knows restaurants are done.” Stark…
Chefs, restaurateurs, and industry leaders have varied criticisms of Reeves’ policies. They all agree they aren’t doing any good…
Guido has compiled them for co-conspirators’ reading leisure below. Click a category to expand the list:
Gordon Ramsay: warned the industry faces a “bloodbath” and restaurants are “lambs to the slaughter,” saying conditions are worse than any point he can remember. Jan 2026
Michel Roux Jr: responded to Reeves’s adviser Alex Depledge’s “don’t need any more restaurants” remarks by saying government advisers are “really not very clever.” Feb 2026
Tom Kerridge: called the Budget “catastrophic” for hospitality, revealed his business rates were going up 100%+, met with Peter Kyle who looked at the figures “with concern.” Notable because he endorsed Starmer pre-election (signed the 120 business leaders letter) then turned on them. Dec 2024–Jan 2026
Tom Aikens: signed the UKHospitality open letter, called the tax hike something that “must be taken off the table.” Nov 2023 onwards
Monica Galetti: co-signed open letters with Kerridge and Aikens calling for business rates freeze. Nov 2023 onwards
Rick Stein / Ian Fitzgerald, MD, Seafood Restaurant Padstow: called on Reeves to “ease our financial pressures” to “prevent further job losses,” as Stein’s restaurant empire reported widening losses. Sep 2025
Simon Rogan: signed the #TaxedOut open letter to Reeves. Sep 2025
Ravneet Gill: signed #TaxedOut letter. Sep 2025
Vivek Singh: signed #TaxedOut letter. Sep 2025
Jackson Boxer: signed #TaxedOut letter. Sep 2025
John Vincent, Leon founder: said the government is “totally killing the restaurant industry,” that “everyone knows restaurants are done,” and that people are calling him “in tears every day saying they’ve owned restaurants for 40 years and now they’re going under.” Apr 2026
Tommy Banks, Black Swan, Oldstead, Michelin-starred: warned “there won’t be a hospitality industry in a few years” if tax rises continue, called the pub-only rates relief “absolute madness” and “absurd,” revealed his staff payroll rose by £250,000 from the NICs hike alone. Jan 2026
Kenny Atkinson, House of Tides, Newcastle, Michelin-starred: issued an “urgent plea” to Reeves over business rates, warning of major job losses. Jan 2026
Cal Byerley, Pine, Northumberland: accused Labour of “attacking small hospitality businesses on an unprecedented scale.” Jan 2026
James Robson, Fallow, Roe, Fowl, London: said he should be opening another London restaurant creating 100–200 jobs but “in this environment it’s just irresponsible… our hands are just tied every single way.” Nov 2025
Soren Jessen, 1 Lombard Street, London: said he’s seeing 10% sales growth but still can’t make a profit: “I dread to think what it’s like out in the countryside.” Nov 2025
Ian Leigh, MD, Thai Leisure Group: held Reeves “directly responsible” for closing his Cambridge restaurant and making 14 staff redundant, calling Labour’s policies “a dagger to our heart.” Mar 2026
Nick Crispini, Flour and Grape, London: said the NI rise has “eaten into my profits” and “sometimes I think they just think businesses are these money pits.” Apr 2026
Pardeep Singh, Eatalia Cafe, London Bridge: said “a reversal of the NI rise would be a massive help” and called for lower VAT. Apr 2026
Nico Desaio, London restaurateur: said “raising these taxes is a major mistake, it will kill the economy” and called it “the biggest mistake this government has made.” Apr 2026
Steven Hesketh, MD, The Hospitality Hero / Savvy Hotel Group, Chester: said he was “furious” and that businesses are “being completely screwed by this government,” with his Wrexham hotel’s rateable value nearly doubling from £87k to £171k. Called the revaluation methodology “laughable.” Jan 2026
Rob Hattersley, MD, Longbow Bars & Restaurants: warned his pubs with rooms face year-on-year increases of 30%, rising to an extra £115,000 annually, calling it “simply unsustainable” and “yet another example of how the Labour government has failed to understand the realities of our sector.” Jan 2026
Jeremy Clarkson, The Farmer’s Dog, Cotswolds: banned all Labour MPs from his pub, called Reeves’s approach “a machine gun on publicans,” business rates up from £28k to £50k+. Dec 2025
Adam Brooks: pub owner, regular GB News presence, accused Labour of “hating pubs,” recalled Labour’s 2022 pledge to scrap business rates. Jan 2026
Simon Cotton, MD, Fat Badger Group, Harrogate: said restaurateurs have been calling him in confusion about whether relief will extend beyond pubs: “You wonder what we’re doing it all for.” Jan 2026
James Fowler, Larder House, Bournemouth: originated the “No Labour MPs” sticker campaign, said venues are “absolutely being taxed out.” Dec 2025
Andy Lennox, Old Thatch, Dorset: launched the original “No Labour MPs” campaign, urged Depledge to “think twice before using such unwise words.” Dec 2025–Feb 2026
Steve Perez: hospitality owner, former CBI Entrepreneur of the Year, said “we’re taxed out! You can’t continue to tax this industry over and over again.” Dec 2025
Dom Jacobs, Ardent Pub Group, London: called Reeves’s business rates U-turn “wholly inadequate.” Jan 2026
Nic Bottomley, Mr B’s Emporium: described the Budget as “sneaky,” warning businesses face a 27.6% year-on-year increase in business rates. Jan 2026
Rick Cressman, Nailcote Hotel, Warwickshire: banned Labour MPs after being forced to cut young staff by 25%, asking “why do everything you can to wreck the industry, then throw hundreds of millions at job creation in it? It makes no sense.” Dec 2025
Matthew Todd, The Wonston Arms, Winchester: said of the pub rates U-turn, “I don’t see how it’s going to save the venues that are going to close — it’s actually a very small amount.” Jan 2026
Mr Knowles, landlord of Reeves’s local pub, Leeds: banned the Chancellor personally, said rates have been “slashed from 75 per cent to 40 per cent, driving bills up by as much as 104 per cent for the average pub.” Dec 2025
Sacha Lord, Nighttime Industries Association / former Burnham adviser: quit Labour membership, wrote a devastating open letter to Reeves, said he “bitterly regrets” calling Labour the party of business. Sat on a Tory conference panel called “Labour Hates Fun.” Said the sector has been “blindsided” and is “completely confused as to why the Chancellor seems to be ignoring us.” Feb 2025–Feb 2026
Kate Nicholls, UKHospitality: forecast up to 30,000 hospitality closures, called the budget “the latest blow,” said the money coming in “is simply not enough to offset the rocketing costs.” Called NICs changes “unsustainable” and “regressive.” Multiple
Allen Simpson, CEO, UKHospitality — succeeded Nicholls: warned “every single high street is going to feel a massive hit” and that the policy risks accelerating closures, job losses, and price increases. Jan–Feb 2026
Steve Alton, Hospitality Sector Council: said fewer than 1 in 10 pubs will be profitable following the budget taxes. Dec 2025
Emma McClarkin, CEO, British Beer & Pub Association: said the Budget left publicans “petrified,” called for a 30% pub-specific relief, warned of 2,000 pub closures and 12,000+ job losses without intervention. Called the current system “outdated and unfair.” Dec 2025–Mar 2026
Dawn Hopkins, Vice-Chair, Campaign for Pubs: said the government is in “complete denial” about the consequences and called the promised lower business rates a “broken promise” that is “literally unaffordable for pubs.” Dec 2025
Miles Beale, CEO, Wine and Spirit Trade Association: called the alcohol duty rise “disappointing and shortsighted.” Jan 2026
Mark Kent, CEO, Scotch Whisky Association: said duty rises add pressure to a sector already facing job losses and closures, noting the previous 3.65% rise reduced spirits revenue by 7%. Jan 2026
SIBA, Society of Independent Brewers: described the Budget as a “bitter blow for beer drinkers, community pubs and small breweries.” Nov 2025
Nick Mackenzie, CEO, Greene King: called for pubs to be taxed on profit rather than turnover, warning the current system is fundamentally unfair. Jul 2025
Guido will update the list as it gets longer. Rest assured it will…
Starmer said to Robert Peston this afternoon:
“I’m fed up with the fact that families across the country see their bills go up and down on energy businesses bills go up and down on energy because of the actions of Putin or Trump across the world.”