Rachel Reeves warning as 1,5k fish and chip shops close | Politics | News
Rachel Reeves has been asked to help tackle fish and chip shops as a trade body warns many may be forced to close their doors due to rising prices. Rising costs of energy, cooking oil and fish are impacting the industry; The National Fish Fries Federation is calling on the Chancellor to cut fuel duty.
The trawlers remained in port due to the increase in fuel prices due to the war in the Middle East and Iran’s continued de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Fishermen are reportedly failing to make a profit, fish prices are soaring, putting further pressure on Britain’s prized potatoes. Andrew Cook, president of the National Federation of Fish Fryers, said the fuel tax should be cut amid the disruption caused by the situation in the Gulf.
He slammed Energy Secretary Ed Miliband’s net zero plans as “lacking common sense” and warned that many fish and chip shops were set to follow the 1,500 that have closed in recent years.
Mr Cook told Sun: “We are in danger of trashing our economy just to hit the random net zero target.
“Independent fish and chip shops are feeling the pinch. The price of cod has doubled and it’s very difficult to make a profit.
“We’re seeing stores closing. We’ve lost 1,500 stores in the last three years and we expect more to close.”
One fisherman told the newspaper his diesel consumption for a week had risen from £10,000 to £20,500.
There are around 9,000 fish and chip shops left in the UK, with around 500 closing every year.
Oil prices hit an almost three-week high on Monday, with Brent crude rising 2% to just under $108 (about £80) a barrel.
Progress in US-Iran peace talks stumbled after Donald Trump canceled plans to send a negotiating team to Pakistan.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it was carrying out “detailed studies to assess whether the food sector is affected by rising fuel prices”.
