Lib Dem Will Forster calls for Chancellor to “save Surrey’s small businesses” and demand urgent action ahead of Budget

Will Forster MP and the Liberal Democrats have called for the Chancellor to slash VAT for the hospitality sector, ahead of the Budget this week.

Woking’s MP and other key local Lib Dems have visited Cellar Magnifique in Woking, a small, independent wine bar and met Roland Foxcroft, who owns the business.

Will has echoed their party’s calls for an emergency 5% VAT cut for pubs, restaurants and other hospitality and entertainment businesses at the Budget, as part of a bold £12bn plan to tackle the cost of living. 

The Lib Dem proposals would immediately cut VAT from 20% to 15% for hospitality, accommodation, and attractions, boosting struggling high streets and slashing prices for hard-pressed families.

This would form part of a two-pronged approach to tackling the cost of living crisis with the party also calling on Rachel Reeves to reduce household energy bills by removing the current renewables obligation levy. This combined support package, in place until April 2027, would save a typical family around £270 over the next eighteen months, and supporting high streets by putting spare cash back into people’s pockets.

The proposals would be funded by a new windfall tax on big banks, originally proposed by the IPPR think tank, which could raise around £30bn in total between now and 2030. 

Lib Dem MP for Woking, Will Forster said:

“Like many other small businesses and hospitality venues across Surrey, Cellar Magnifique has had to face higher business rates bills and a punishing Employers’ National Insurance hike imposed by this Labour Government. 

“The jobs tax is a mess of the Chancellor’s own making and she needs to put it right by reversing it.”

“We have so many fantastic businesses in Surrey and I want to see them thriving, and that can happen if the Chancellor listens to us.“