Chancellor Rishi Sunak came into politics with the distinct advantage of experience in the real world, namely a job, and in a business where results are everything, as a partner of a Hedge Fund.
Hedge Funds were made infamous through Damian Lewis’ portrayal of Bobby Axelrod in Billions, where absolutely anything can be justified in the pursuit of profit. The series is a fictional television drama but gives some insight to how such investment vehicles work. As a partner in a Hedge Fund not making profits will ensure a short career. Sunak’s extended over many years, and as such it is safe to assume he was an astute operator.
As Sunak approaches his one year anniversary as Chancellor of the Exchequer it is perhaps no surprise that his business acumen has stood him in good stead, so far. But the challenge of current times is monumental.
The Institute for Government’s annual Whitehall Monitor report last September calculated the cost impact on public finances wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic, using government data for the 2020/21 financial year to 22 September 2020. The headlines of the report set out the Covid-19 pandemic as the cause of the deepest recession in the UK for 300 years. So, the scale of the task presented to Sunak was and is quite literally unprecedented.
The Chancellor’s investment background hopefully leads him to see public spending as such, investments. The IMF has been encouraging countries like the UK to continue to borrow cheaply and thereby limit the damage from the pandemic to foster economic recovery.
The ‘investments’ made by Rishi Sunak in the UK hospitality industry to date have helped many to avoid collapse. Investing in hospitality businesses to survive the pandemic has multiple payback benefits, more tax revenues in years to come and lower benefit payments to people impacted from business failures.
The investments made to date are substantial and as such merit gratitude as they have made a difference to hundreds of thousands of people.
As the Covid-19 pandemic continues into 2021 hospitality businesses remain closed with no source of income. Any dates for reopening remain totally reliant upon the mass vaccination programme that is now underway.
Hospitality businesses now urgently need more economic investment from Chancellor Rishi Sunak to remain viable and see out the months ahead. The budget in March will be too late for all too many, so we would encourage the Chancellor to accelerate his plans to ensure a recovery led by hospitality as soon as is safe to reopen.
Looking forward to The Clink Charity Golf Day 2021 at The Belfry
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Hospitality & Catering News: Real world Chancellor encouraged to continue investments in hospitality – 24 January 2021 – Real world Chancellor encouraged to continue investments in hospitality.
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