COVID-19: Businesses frustrated by lack of government support amid Omicron wave | Business News

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In Bristol, the last full working Friday before Christmas was not like this.

A day allotted casually for sneaky shopping, long lunches, and perhaps a stumbling home still wearing a party hat, looked more like Sunday.

Banking restaurants and bars in December found themselves wondering where the next customer came from, and frustrated with the government’s messaging that brought them here.

Public health warnings have evaporated consumer confidence, leaving businesses free to open but without customers, and also without support due to a lack of official restrictions.

It’s the worst of both worlds, “lockdown by stealth” according to the furious hospitality industry and MPs on all sides.

At MacKenzie’s Bar & Grill in Bristol’s normally busy Harbourfront, there was almost no commerce at lunchtime, evening reservations were canceled and some staff were calling to cancel shifts due to COVID contacts.

General Manager Andrew Gelender said the industry is a disappointment.

Photo: Andrew Gellender, General Manager of Mackenzies Bar & Kitchen in Bristol

“During previous lockdowns and other waves, there was constant guidance, everyone was singing from the same hymn sheet. You had COVID restrictions or guidelines to follow.

“I knew where you stand with the leave, or if you’re unable to open for business. This time they hung us all to dry, it’s almost as if we’re all alone without direction at the moment.”

His frustration is shared by the broader industry, which is calling on the Treasury to step in with fresh financial support for the sector.

Their call was echoed by Labor and in Scotland by Nicola Sturgeon, who said only the UK government had the power to borrow to provide the level of support needed.

Photo: An empty Christmas market in Bristol

In keeping with a chaotic week in Westminster, the pressure was enough to push Chancellor Rishi Sunak back early from California, where it was embarrassingly revealed a meeting with US businesses during what the prime minister declared a national emergency.

Mr. Sunak met with business leaders almost while in the US, and again on his return to the UK, but there was no offer of new support.

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0:47 No new support for hospitality – Sunak

The Treasury says billions of pounds of support remains available, primarily through business rate easing and a temporary value-added tax cut to 12.5%.

Both will run until the end of March, and local authorities have yet to distribute around £250 million worth of £2 billion in grants to eligible companies.

The business responds that none of that addresses the underlying damage caused by warnings about Omicron, which have had the same impact on trade as a complete shutdown without any help.

Kate Nichols, CEO of Hospitality UK, said the government was shortsighted.

“You have three million people working in hospitality, another 1.5 million in the supply chain, and we normally generate £40 billion in taxes. Put simply, I don’t think the government can let us fail at this late stage.”

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Government support for business in previous waves has been the price the state has charged for restrictions on trade, and the Treasury Department is deeply reluctant to set a precedent by breaking that link.

But the vacuum in the country’s streets is a direct result of the prime minister’s contradictory approach to this phase of the pandemic.

With a full week circulating before Christmas and Omicron likely to spend the New Year trading as well, the Treasury may not be able to resist for long.

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