The Scottish National Party has formally backed the #VATsTheProblem campaign, pressing the UK government to cut the 20% VAT rate on hospitality to 10% at the forthcoming Budget. The petition has now gathered more than 390,000 signatories.

The party's support follows an open letter signed last week by over 100 leading figures in Scotland's hospitality sector to First Minister John Swinney. SNP Deputy First Minister Jennifer Gilruth and Calum Kerr MSP have both written to the Prime Minister on behalf of the party, urging Westminster to act.

In his letter, Kerr stated: "As you will be aware, the #VATsTheProblem campaign is calling for a VAT cut on hospitality to 10% at the upcoming Budget. This is something the SNP has consistently called for and we are proud to stand behind that campaign with the Deputy First Minister having written to the Treasury last week too."

He added: "I therefore urge you to use the forthcoming Budget to introduce a 10% VAT rate for hospitality across the UK. I hope you will give this proposal the serious consideration it deserves and commit to reducing hospitality VAT to 10%."

Why is the industry targeting 10%?

The UK levies the second-highest hospitality VAT rate in Europe at 20%, behind only Denmark at 25%. France, Italy and Spain all apply 10% rates to the sector. Germany sits as low as 7%. The EU average for hospitality VAT stands at 12.8%, putting the UK roughly 7.2 percentage points above the European mean.

Michelin-starred chef Tom Kitchin, one of the signatories of last week's open letter, framed the gap in direct European terms: "It's fantastic to see the Scottish Government and the SNP put their full support behind the #VATsTheProblem campaign and join our calls for hospitality VAT to be reduced to 10%, in line with Europe."

For UK operators, the arithmetic is straightforward: a 10-point cut to 10% would halve the sector's VAT bill on food, accommodation and on-trade sales and bring the country in line with three of the bloc's four largest economies.

What other political signals are in play?

Earlier this month, more than 800 businesses sent a separate open letter to Andy Burnham, calling on him to honour pre-election statements in which he said he would "argue for a VAT rate more consistent with what you find in Europe because of the social value that your businesses bring to places and towns".

Kitchin pushed for further political momentum from Holyrood and Westminster: "I hope we will see the other political parties in Scotland and MSPs back the campaign, as well as Scottish MPs, to put even more pressure on the UK Government to act."

What happens next?

The campaign's immediate target is the next UK Budget, where Treasury officials could formally set a 10% hospitality rate. SNP support concentrates pressure from a party that holds seats in the House of Commons, and trade bodies are expected to step up pre-Budget lobbying in the coming weeks. If the Budget leaves the 20% rate in place, operators will look to the next fiscal event as the next realistic window for change.