'If they don’t give it to another fuckwit this could be a good idea' chefs back Minister for Hospitality petition

Since reopening in July, the hospitality sector has lost 160,000 jobs - 20,000 of those in the last three weeks alone.

There are 900,000 workers still on furlough and 1 in 5 premises are still closed. Without additional support the industry is facing over half a million job losses in the next few weeks if the northern and national restrictions we are expecting are announced. 

With no representation in Parliament, the government was ill-equipped to assess the potential damages of its policy, or the ways in which these might have been mitigated. Some of the nation’s best chefs and hospitality representatives are urging the UK government to impose a Minister for Hospitality and they have created a petition which has so far been backed by over 5,000 people. 

The group, that includes world renowned chefs including Marcus Wareing, Angela Hartnett, Asma Khan and Tom Kerridge, is calling for the appointment of a Minister for Hospitality to the UK government to ensure the representation of the interests of one of the country’s leading industries in Parliament.

Although some may be sceptical, the campaign is gathering momentum.

If they don’t give it to another fuckwit this could be a good idea... #Minister4Hospitality https://t.co/xqtBDIDQ1m

— JoeWarwick (@joewarwick) October 9, 2020

Responsible for around 3m jobs, generating £130bn in activity and contributing £38bn in taxation annually, the sector has been impacted heavily by Covid19 and the government’s thoughtless policy and communication surrounding the pandemic.

The group argues that, having a representative voice in Parliament, as the Arts and Sports sectors do, would have been beneficial during what has been an exceptionally trying 6 months for the sector. Lockdown and the government’s contradictory communication around it was the start of many difficulties for the industry, with the introduction of a curfew across the country the latest.

Sign the petition here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/552201