Support Stockport's Hospitality

Creating a Vibrant Stockport: Support Our Local Hospitality

Stockport's pubs, restaurants, cafés, and hotels are the beating heart of our community. They create local jobs, support vibrant town centres, and bring people together. But our hospitality sector is under threat.

Years of workforce shortages, the Covid pandemic, the energy crisis, and poor economic management have taken a heavy toll. Now, Labour's policies are making things worse. Rachel Reeves' hike in Employer's National Insurance Contributions is hitting hospitality particularly hard – recent surveys show 1 in 3 hospitality businesses are running at a loss, 6 in 10 have cut jobs, and many have reduced staff hours.

The Government's changes to business rates also shift the burden unfairly, forcing independent small businesses to subsidise large corporate chains. Energy market failures continue to push up bills, with little competition to drive prices down.

Liberal Democrats believe hospitality is vital for economic growth, jobs, and thriving communities. That's why we're fighting for real change:

  • Abolish unfair business rates and replace them with a fair Commercial Landowner Levy that supports small businesses
  • Help small businesses invest in training, technology, and energy efficiency
  • Reform the apprenticeship levy to truly support skills development
  • Exempt hospitality SMEs from the National Insurance increase
  • Deliver better energy deals through real electricity market reforms

If we want Stockport to thrive – with bustling high streets, thriving independent businesses, and great places for our community to gather – we must back our hospitality sector, not leave it to struggle under unfair policies.

Alice Delemare at the Underbank

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