Gareth Davies

I am extremely sorry to hear that. The hon. Member represents a beautiful part of the country. People should visit it and give all the custom they can to the businesses that he represents. The reality is that the compound effect of multiple costs and tax rises is having a real-life impact. I hope the Minister is listening. I have not yet mentioned the holiday tax, another measure forcing hospitality businesses to raise their prices for working families who just want to take a break away and have a holiday. Many Members have compared this particular tax with those of our European competitors. UKHospitality has been clear that the holiday tax will mean that holidays in England are charged double the tax of visiting Paris and 70% the tax of visiting Barcelona or Rome. Only this Government could look at a wet weekend at the British seaside and decide that the problem was that it was too cheap. We have to take action. There has been so much anti-growth taxation and regulation, I could go on and on, but I will save Government Members their blushes. This Government now tax the pint, the pub, the person pulling the pint, and the bed upstairs—alcohol duty, energy costs, labour cost hikes, the Employment Rights Act or, as some have called it, the unemployment rights Act—all piling on pressure at the same time. This Government keep ordering rounds and leaving the landlord with the tab. Prosperity begins small. It begins with the pub on the corner, the small B&B and the family-run café. Those are the employers and businesses that we should seek to support. I hope that the Minister will listen to the many concerns expressed across the Chamber. The Opposition share them, and that is why we have set out a number of costed ways in which to ease the pressure on the hospitality industry for all our constituents.