Slash VAT to save chippies from a real battering

When Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of February few of us considered the nitty-gritty ramifications for us.

Let’s face it, we were all too fearful of being blown to kingdom come by a rather bigger issue... nuclear war.

The last thing bothering us back in the late winter was the threat to another cornerstone of British life – the fish supper.

Who would have thought the crazy world of geopolitics would impact so hard on an order of two saveloys, cod, chips and some mushy peas?

First, thanks to the pandemic, we watched pub after pub call final last orders as the hospitality industry nosedived.

Now it’s another national staple, the chippie, which looks like taking an almighty battering.

A third of fish and chip shops could close if the shortage of essential ingredients like cod, haddock and sunflower oil is not addressed by ministers, according to the National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF).

It says that since the outbreak of war in the Ukraine, makers of the great British dish have had to close, raise prices or change their menus.

The UK is deeply dependent on seafood from Russia, the world leader in exports of cod, as well as potato fertiliser used to make chips. Added to this, the NFFF has said, is sunflower oil – half of which comes from Ukraine – which has also seen its supplies disrupted.

As we report today, this is not scaremongering. There are real fears among chip shop owners in this area that their existence is threatened.

Yes, prices were rising before the war, but sanctions imposed on Russia by the government – quite rightly – have pushed them higher.

But it can help this branch of the takeaway industry by cutting VAT for chip shop owners to 12.5 per cent to save a British institution.