Dear Prime Minister,
Without confirmation that the national lockdown will be lifted on 3 December, and your colleague Michael Gove stating live on TV that there may not be a defined end date, hospitality businesses are unable to plan anything and everything in the run up to Christmas.
Over the past few weeks the government has not issued a definite confirmation that lockdown will be lifted, and depending on which minister is being interviewed by whom on the subject, their answers cover a vast undulating terrain of uncertainty.
Government ministers like most politicians seem to loathe giving straight answers to most questions, but we would ask for this to change, at least during the current crisis.
In all too many instances ministers appear to believe their interviewer’s questions need translating into a question they would like to ask themselves.
They seem to then complete the transformative process automatically, thank the interviewer for the question, condescendingly compliment them on the wisdom of it, before regurgitating a meaningless party line. They seem to think the interviewer and Joe Public are both too thick to notice their cunning tactic, please advise your colleagues most are not.
We would ask that this contempt for Joe Public and the media be urgently curtailed.
The hospitality industry has no solid information to plan with in the run up to what traditionally is their busiest period.
There is no definitive guidance on if the lockdown will be lifted on 3 December, and/or what is the government’s policy the day after. Tiers as previously imposed has been suggested by some, if so what tiers apply to which regions also needs to be clarified.
At the moment one might expect hospitality businesses run by clairvoyants and telepaths to know what is happening. Unfortunately, members from both groups currently are only able to confirm continued ministerial dithering.
Could you please let us know what we can and cannot do, so we can plan to do the best to save our businesses and jobs.
Yours sincerely
The H&C News Team