#CANCELTHECURFEW is hoping to encourage a government U-Turn

A large number of pubs, bars and restaurants have reported a significant drop in revenue since the government imposed a 10pm curfew on dining and drinking out following a spike in coronavirus cases. 

Health Secretary Matt Hancock had blamed ‘affluent young people’ out socialising for the rise and had been inspired by similar restrictions imposed by other countries in an attempt to try and ‘flatten the curve.’

Latest figures from Public Health England show that only 3% of transmissions outside of the home are actually from the hospitality sector

But now pressure is mounting on the Government to make a U-turn on the 10pm curfew, which has had an immediate impact on businesses, which are in the process of trying to limit further financial damage from having to close completely for three months.

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All pubs, bars and restaurants are subject to a country-wide 10pm curfew

10pm closures are causing venues to lose several crucial hours of trade every day, and at a time when many bars and restaurants are already operating at a reduced capacity, the curfew could be the final nail in the coffin.

Latest figures from Public Health England show that only 3% of transmissions outside of the home are actually from the hospitality sector. Many videos on social media show the knock on effect of drinkers gathering together in the street after closing time. Crowds were seen in various city centres after they were forced to leave venues at the same time, creating a bottleneck effect at taxi ranks and a peak demand for public transport. Surely this is more of a potential cause for transmission of the virus than in the controlled environment and comparative safety of restaurants, bars and pubs. 

This is why a group of hospitality professionals from all over the country are unveiling their new #CANCELTHECURFEW campaign to attempt to raise awareness amongst consumers of the impact that the policy is having on their industry.

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Anyone with a love for the hospitality industry is being asked to share the #CANCELTHECURFEW images on their social media platforms

This campaign also takes the form of an open letter to the Prime Minister with a stark message which points out that;

"As an industry we directly employ around 10% of the working population and contribute £39billion in direct tax revenue. That doesn’t take into account the contribution from industries that rely on us, from brewers and distillers to farmers and wholesalers. If nothing changes then hundreds of thousands of people will lose their jobs, thousands of businesses will close their doors forever, billions of pounds of tax income will be lost, and the hospitality industry will never be the same again."

Tom Lord, founder of Hospitality Gin and hospitality consultant, says: "The industry that we love is in grave danger of being suffocated by this curfew. Some venues were starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel before it was announced as customers returned and we all settled into 'the new normal'. Now we’ve been plunged back into uncertainty.

“We want the British public to know the impact that the curfew is going to have, not just on our businesses, but on our friends and colleagues. We have borne the brunt of the measures announced over the past fortnight. We are vilified as breeding grounds for the virus, yet Public Health England’s own figures show this is not true. In fact, the latest figures show that we have one of the lowest infection rates outside of the home.

“Hundreds of thousands of people will lose their jobs as a direct result of this disastrous policy, thousands of businesses will close their doors forever, and the hospitality industry will never be the same again. Stop blaming hospitality, let us serve.”

Martin Greenhow at Voodoo Doll, the operator behind MOJO bars, which has venues in Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Harrogate and Nottingham, is rallying the hospitality industry to refuse to serve any MPs until the Government properly reviews the 10pm curfew and/or provides viable financial support.

“With neither evidence to support the assumption that hospitality is driving infection – only 35 cases reported in the sector and as of yet no sign of the threatened dramatic upturn in deaths,” he says, “the move to curtail the operational hours of our already crippled industry seems unjust and punitive, not to mention illogical and irrational. 

"Are people more infectious after 10pm? Hospitality has slaved to work responsibly within the constraints laid out for us and now we are being thrown aside with scant concern for the impact these measures will have on our businesses and the wider economy"”

The movement starts this week by asking hospitality leaders, operators, employees, and anyone with a love for the hospitality industry to share the #CANCELTHECURFEW images on their social media platforms. They are then following up with a silent protest and social media 'thunderclap' at 10pm on Saturday this week (03/10) with venues and workers all over the country standing outside their venues and posting images of this on their social media.

Also read - 'Well-managed pubs are the safest places to visit' - Landlords respond to new rules