Ahead of this week’s Autumn Budget, Liberal Democrat leaders have demanded that the Chancellor slash VAT for hospitality firms, saying Woking and Surrey’s small businesses need urgent help.

On Friday, November 21, Woking MP Will Forster and Guildford MP Zoe Franklin joined Cllr Ann-Marie Barker, the leader of Woking Borough Council, on a visit to Cellar Magnifique in Church Path.

The group met owner Roland Foxcroft to hear how rising costs are impacting the independent wine bar.

The MPs repeated their party’s call for an emergency 5 percent VAT rate for pubs, restaurants and entertainment venues.

Mr Forster said: “Like many other small businesses and hospitality venues across Surrey, Cellar Magnifique has had to face higher business rates bills and a punishing employers’ National Insurance hike imposed by this Labour government.

“The jobs tax is a mess of the Chancellor’s own making and she needs to put it right by reversing it.

“We have so many fantastic businesses in Surrey and I want to see them thriving, and that can happen if the Chancellor listens to us.”

Mr Foxcroft said: “It’s really a two-fold problem. It’s a cost of living crisis from the customer perspective, and the cost of doing business from ours. One needs to address both of those.”

The Liberal Democrats have unveiled a £12 billion plan to ease the cost of living and support town centres, with VAT for hospitality, accommodation and visitor attractions being cut from 20 percent to 15 percent.

The party also urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to reduce household energy bills by removing the renewables obligation levy.

Together, the changes would run until April 2027 and save a typical family an estimated £270 over the next 18 months, while helping high streets by freeing up household budgets.

The package would be funded through a windfall tax on large banks, first proposed by the IPPR think tank, which could raise around £30 billion by 2030.

Zoe Franklin, Liberal Democrat MP for Guildford, also attended the meeting at Cellar Magnifique.

She added: “Businesses across Surrey are being unfairly punished by the Chancellor’s tax on jobs and this upcoming Budget is a critical juncture for them.

“There are so many brilliant hospitality venues in my Guildford constituency, yet it is frustrating that they are facing so many unnecessary hurdles.

“Scrap the VAT, tax the banks, and unlock economic growth. That is how we can save Surrey’s small businesses.”

The Autumn Budget will be delivered by Chancellor Rachel Reeves on Wednesday, November 26, at around 12.30pm.