Why this long-time Labour donor is thinking about breaking up with the government
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Sacha Lord, a long-time Labour donor and major name in the UK’s hospitality business, explains why he’s considering pulling his support from the government over its failure to support the industry.
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Read time: 4 mins
In brief…
- Sacha Lord tells The News Agents that he will end his support, political and financial, from the Labour government if this year’s budget doesn’t include measures to improve the UK’s hospitality industry.
- He says that after writing an open letter to Rachel Reeves, he was blanked during a TV appearance by the chancellor and unfollowed on social media by Keir Starmer.
- The previous Conservative government understood the needs of the hospitality sector better than Labour, he believes.
What’s the story?
If there’s one man in politics that knows a thing or two about the hospitality and entertainment industries in the UK, it’s Sacha Lord.
The chair of the Night Time Industries Association, a former advisor to ex-MP and Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, Lord also founded Manchester-based club event The Warehouse Project and Parklife festival.
And he says things are looking pretty bleak right now.
“In my lifetime, I cannot remember this country feeling so flat, so demoralised,” he tells The News Agents.
“No one has a good word to say about it at the moment, and all those people in hospitality, who were extremely excited about the new government coming in are now completely deflated.”
A former Labour donor, Lord says he is no longer sure it is the right party for him to put his support, and his money, behind.
“It all hinges now for me on the autumn budget,” he adds.
“If there isn't help for hospitality, which I was promised there would be in the election, then it's not the party for me.”
And despite having offered huge financial support to the government in the past, Lord says he now feels abandoned by the party since it won the 2024 election.
“In the election, I could pick up the phone and get a meeting tomorrow with any of the cabinet ministers, and now it's like they're just not interested,” he says.
“They're in power, and that's it – they've moved on. And as a Labour Party member, it's heartbreaking.”
Lord describes Rachel Reeves' increase in the rate of National Insurance paid by employers, introduced in her 2024 budget, as a “devastating” blow to the hospitality industry.
“No one saw that NI increase coming in, there was no rumour or anything,” Lord says.
“When it hit the industry, we just couldn't believe it.
“People are cutting back, reducing hours, people are cutting the amount of staff working on the floor, and they have to do that to try and break even.”
In February 2025, Lord published an open letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, asking for help with the “irreversible damage” done to his industry.
“I find this so petty, but the letter went out - in 48 hours, Keir Starmer unfollowed me on Twitter - which I thought was very bizarre, but I got no response from Rachel Reeves, none whatsoever.”
He says the only response he saw from this was to be blanked by Reeves when both appeared on a BBC politics show.
Asked if he thinks Rachel Reeves is a good chancellor, Lord’s response is a flat no.,
“I think a few weeks ago she was almost having knocks on the door from Starmer. I think it could have been time for her to go.
“I think it's stabilized now. So it's going to be interesting to see what happens over the next few months.”
He is now calling for a tax on the richest people in the country.
“Why not introduce that tax rather than affect the normal working person on the streets?,” he asks.
“I’d be happy to pay 2% extra here. No problem whatsoever. If I thought that would help working people, no problem.”
Lord also wants the government to introduce a hospitality minister to focus on the industry, and consider offering support similar to what was offered by the Tory government during the Covid-19 pandemic – saying the situation is worse now than it was in 2020 and 2021.
He praises Rishi Sunak who, when he was chancellor introduced the 'eat out to help out' scheme during the pandemic as well as lowering VAT from 20% to 5% for businesses, saying he understood the "dire mess" the industry was in at the time.
It has since returned to the higher rate, but Lord adds that a new VAT reduction to 12.5%, even on a short-term basis, could save many struggling businesses.
“We're not asking for money. We're not asking for a cheque . But what I'm saying is, it's probably better, mathematically, to get 12 and a half percent of something than 20% of nothing,” he says.
“Ironically, the previous governments, they've probably understood hospitality better than this government.”
Listen to the latest episode of The News Agents.
