Britain is being disciplined by the worst inflation among the G7 countries, but Liz Truss, the early favorite in the country’s prime ministerial race, offers a solution to lower taxes – and excludes targeted additional subsidies.
London – The Somers Town Coffee House has been serving thirsty customers near Euston station in central London for over two hundred years. Owner of a historic pub Anthony Pender says that the hardest winter that he himself has ever seen is coming soon
– I believe that most pubs will not survive the winter. Our number of customers has already decreased, as we have had to raise the price of, for example, a pint of Guinness.
In London, we are still living in summer vacation time for a while, but the worry about winter is already acute. A district heating system is a rarity in the country. As a general rule, apartment blocks in urban buildings are also heated with apartment-specific gas boilers.
The energy costs of Anthony Pender’s large pub property have tripled – and the purchase prices of products have increased, starting with cooking oil for the fryer.
Despite this, he considers the customers’ increased basic costs to be the biggest threat.
– Customers don’t come to the pub when the weather gets cold, because they need to save to be able to heat their house and feed their family. Our problem will soon be a further decrease in sales, says Anthony Pender.
“The government is missing”
Even in Britain, the biggest reason for the cost of living crisis is the price of energy. The country has not created the same price ceilings for gas and electricity as, for example, the neighboring country of France.
Average household electricity bill in the UK rises at the beginning of October (you switch to another service) to around 4100 euros per year. An 80 percent increase to the already high prices is unsustainable, especially for the poorest economies and, for example, restaurant entrepreneurs operating with small margins.
However, the country is practically without a functioning prime minister, who was forced to resign Boris Johnson has promised that he will no longer create new policies.
– The government is missing. The measures have been delayed too much, because the energy crisis is already in full swing, says pub owner Anthony Pender.
The prime minister’s favorites have a risky plan
Johnson’s successor will be chosen on Monday, and the current foreign minister is the early favorite Liz Truss. In order to improve Britain’s economic situation, he has promised extensive tax cuts on a fast schedule and at the same time ruled out targeted additional subsidies for the most needy.
The plan is risky when inflation is raging.
Brexit is also part of the reason for inflation, which is thought to be persistent, because the EU exit has, for example, increased the prices of certain imported foodstuffs.
Pub culture will survive
Anthony Pender believes that Britain’s persistent pub culture will survive, but only the bigger players may survive the winter.
– I own two other pubs and the company has enough funds to survive for a few months even in a difficult situation. But the smallest one-pub entrepreneurs will be wiped off the map when winter comes without additional support.
If Liz Truss is elected as prime minister on Monday, the pressure for U-turns in the economic promises will be strong, as even the conservatives are now demanding active actions from the government.
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