The Old Thatch pub in Dorset is about “bringing people together”, everyone that is, except Labour MPs. Owner Andy Lennox, who runs nine pubs across Dorset and Hampshire, said the Government was still “systematically killing” the hospitality industry after he made a symbolic ban on all Labour officials last December.

Only one thing will change his mind: VAT reductions. Even though pubs are facing several financial pressures, such as increases to minimum wage, high energy bills and business rates, he believes one change will fix it all. “There are lots of issues, all of them are solved by a VAT cut. There is no point in talking about anything else,” he told the Express.

“We’ve all got very, very busy pubs, but they’re not making any money. That is basically the only thing that’s going to save the industry.”

Mr Lennox wants Labour to slash VAT for hospitality businesses from 20% to the same rate as Europe, which averages at around 13%. UKHospitality (UKH), which represents hundreds of industry members, has asked for the same.

Wetherspoon founder Tim Martin has long claimed the “perverse” system meant pubs lost about 50% of their beer trade to supermarkets since 2000, because shops generally pay zero tax on food intended for home consumption. He said supermarkets can use that saving to sell alcohol at a discounted price, so boozers can hardly compete.

Mr Lennox believes the cut would allow him to employ more people, price competitively and invest in the pubs so they can grow – something he has not been able to do in recent years.

“You’d see enormous employment, you see higher tax returns, and you’d see a vibrant industry,” he said. Having worked in pubs since he was 21, the 38-year-old has never seen it this bad, and it had gotten “worse every year”.

He now pays about £250,000 in VAT every three months which is crippling his businesses.

“You sit there and you go, but we don’t take a quarter of a million quid home,” he said. “No one’s saying that we shouldn’t be paying tax… but when HMRC makes more from a pint than your landlord does, what is the point?”

The Old Thatch in Wimborne is multi-award-winning, but it is only making 3-4% profit, which has plummeted to “untenable standards” since its heyday, when it was making around 20%.

His team is half the size it used to be and they have to lay off staff “all the time”, since they cannot afford to keep more. He also had to close two sites during COVID.

“It’s a great industry. I love seeing the young lads, the young girls come through the ranks. That’s my favourite part, and the worst bit at the moment is I can’t employ them.”

But he is not the only one feeling the pinch. In the first three months of this year, 161 struggling pubs closed across England, Scotland and Wales, equating to the loss of around 2,400 jobs.

Mr Lennox said the VAT cut during COVID was “amazing” and “really allowed us to come back”. But calls for long-term change have fallen on deaf ears, according to Mr Lennox.

“Every single MP I speak to agrees with us, but that doesn’t seem to mean a thing. When it gets to Government, it just gets lost.”

He believes the VAT cuts are more vital than ever to create job opportunities and a sense of community in an increasingly digital world. “I love the industry. I love what we do. It’s just the metrics don’t add up anymore.”

A Government spokesperson said: “We are backing Britain’s pubs – cutting this year’s business rates bills by 15% followed by a two year freeze, extending World Cup opening hours and increasing the Hospitality Support Fund to £10m to help venues grow while later this year, we’ll build on our Pride in Place programme with our a new High Streets Strategy to revitalise our town centres later this year.

“This comes on top of capping corporation tax, cutting alcohol duty on draught pints and six cuts in interest rates, benefiting businesses in every part of Britain.”