Wetherspoons has highlighted what it calls ‘the government’s serious pandemic response flaws’ in a special edition of their in-house magazine.
The chain, which operates pubs in Arnold and Carlton, has produced a 23 page online edition of Wetherspoon News, its pub magazine with articles from leading academics, doctors and other commentators, highlighting serious flaws in the government’s reaction to coronavirus.
Propel reports the publication will also be available in Wetherspoons pubs from December 3.
The magazine arrives a day after it was revealed that pubs will feel the brunt in the new tier system unveiled yesterday.
Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin said current policies will cause the loss of ‘a million jobs’ in the industry.
He said: “When pubs reopened after the first lockdown in July, a sensible set of regulations was agreed between UK Hospitality, the civil service, local authorities and other interested parties.
These regulations worked well, trade slowly recovered from very low levels and transmissions of the virus in pubs, as verified by the test and trace system, were extremely low. However, since then, the rules have constantly changed, without consultation, on an arbitrary basis, causing mayhem, unemployment and economic dislocation across the hospitality industry.
No one in the government seems to have any experience of running a business – and their current policies seem destined to cause the loss of a million jobs in hospitality, with further ‘ripple effect’ job losses throughout the economy.”
He added: “The most disturbing aspect of government behaviour is its lack of candour. It is now purporting to end lockdown in December. However, for pubs on tier two and tier three, lockdown, in effect, continues and unprofitable trading is certain to continue for the indefinite future – combined with the impossibility of making plans in the face of capricious and unpredictable regulations.”
Good to see he’s defending our Arnold pub
I sent an email to Tom Randall MP for Gedling expressing similar views (I’m still waiting for a reply). I told him I felt safer in a Wetherspoons Pub than shopping in Tesco.