The fish and chip shop has been a symbol of everyday life in Northern Ireland forever -affordable, familiar, and rooted in our communities. But today, the simple fish supper tells a much bigger story about the state of our economy, writes Ross Boyd, Founder and Director of RBCA
Independent takeaways are being ‘battered’ on all sides, if you’ll excuse the pun. Food prices, particularly fish and cooking oil in the case of the chippy, have soared. Staff costs continue to rise through higher wages and increased employer contributions, and utility bills remain stubbornly high. This is how a fish supper, once a regular and modest indulgence, now edges towards £15 per portion. Whilst the costs increase, household budgets continue to be stretched by inflation and mortgage or rent pressures, so customers are thinking twice before treating the family and ‘chippy teas’ are now seen as a luxury occasional purchase.
This isn’t just about takeaway dinners. The closures of several long-established fish and chip shops across Northern Ireland reveal the nearly impossible balancing act facing owner-managed businesses today. When even the most traditional, resilient enterprises can no longer balance the books, it is a warning sign for everyone – especially independent retailers and tourism and hospitality operators.
Rachel Reeves’s forthcoming Autumn Statement is being trailed as a moment to deliver economic stability. But stability on paper means little if owner-managed businesses on the ground are drowning in costs. More taxes are unlikely to help business owners pressures.
If small established businesses aren’t surviving in the current climate – where is the incentive for entrepreneurs to step into the unknown and get an enterprise off the ground? Starting a business has always been a balance of risk verses reward. Consecutive governments appear to be hell bent of affecting the balance one way in particular, and it is not encouraging for private sector innovation. If the risk outweighs the reward the impact is a less entrepreneurial and less productive private sector, and in the long term, this means less taxes coming into the Treasury and less job creation.
So far, there has been scant indication of targeted reliefs for the businesses who form the backbone of our local economy. Corporate tax for small businesses, business rates, employer burdens, and energy support remain areas the private sector is crying out for some sort of action or support.
“Chip Shop Economics” shows in simple terms how policy choices affect real lives. If a family-run chippy cannot make a profit selling the nation’s favourite dish, what hope is there for other small enterprises already stretched to breaking point?
The Autumn Statement offers Reeves a chance to show she recognises this reality. Support for owner-managed businesses can come in many forms. The Chancellor needs to recognise the burden that recent governments have piled onto small businesses. Without meaningful intervention, more closures are inevitable – and not just fish and chip shops. There needs be some incentives for business. Our private sector is under immense pressure and if businesses continue to close, we risk a further loss of jobs, community spaces, and irreparable damage to the entrepreneurial spirit that sustains Northern Ireland. If this Chancellor cannot address these challenges after the recent conservative government many in business will likely look to more radical leaders in future.
