Tougher tier system “a death sentence” for countless pubs and restaurants
23 November 2020
SUGGESTED
Economic Theory
Dr Kristian Niemietz writes for The Telegraph
23 November 2020
In the Media
Government and Institutions
Responding to the Prime Minister’s Covid Winter Plan, including the return of a “three-tier system” when lockdown ends on 2 December, Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the free-market think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:
“The government has decided to lay waste to thousands of pubs by requiring a ’substantial meal’ to be served with drink. There is no scientific basis for this and it will be impossible for wet pubs to comply. Mr Johnson describes the bankruptcies and unemployment that will result as ‘unavoidable hardship’. On the contrary, they are the wholly avoidable outcome of a deliberate political choice.
“Banning households from mixing inside hospitality venues will make many more businesses unviable. In effect, the Tier 2 restrictions are a death sentence for countless pubs and restaurants with no possibility of compensation.
“The government needs to answer three questions. What is the evidence for the restrictions? What are the criteria for moving between tiers? Where is the cost-benefit analysis? Past experience of SAGE suggests that there will be no credible answers.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
For media enquiries, please contact Emily Carver, Head of Media, on 07715942731 or ecarver@iea.org.uk.
Christopher Snowdon is available for interview and further comment.
For further IEA reading on Covid-19 and the hospitality sector, click here.
The mission of the Institute of Economic Affairs is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems. The IEA is a registered educational charity and independent of all political parties.
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