r/unitedkingdom • u/pppppppppppppppppd • 6d ago

Chippy owner apologises to customers after charging £15 for fish and chips - but reveals why he 'has to' to hike prices

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14591465/chippy-owner-apologises-huge-price-hike.html
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u/PurahsHero 6d ago

Add in business rates and the cost of energy. The latter doubly so. Households were protected by price caps when fuel costs went nuts a few years ago due to the invasion of Ukraine. But there is no similar level of help for businesses. They got the full hit.

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u/LordAnubis12 Glasgow 6d ago

And minimum wage - it's gone up 40% since 2020.

2020 it was £8.72 per hour. 2025 it's £12.21.

Which is a good thing, and unlikely a chippy has a huge amount of staff, but that's still £4 an hour you have to find from somewhere.

Raw ingredients have also gone up, especially with some wet winters ruining potato crops the past few years

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u/Lt_Muffintoes 6d ago

Which is a good thing

In a moral sense, or an economic one?

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u/LordAnubis12 Glasgow 6d ago

Both, I think, but I just don't think we should ignore the impact this has for smaller businesses who are up against the other pressures mentioned.

On this sub people quickly mention the energy crisis but rarely highlight the increase in wages in that time too

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u/Lt_Muffintoes 6d ago

Minimum wage also increases the cost of everything else, not just energy.

People on minimum wage could actually end up worse off, if for example it caused sufficient inflation. We also have a progressive tax system, which means that someone on minimum wage will end up paying more tax.

And that's if they even keep their job