Eat Out To Help Out: Brilliance or Lunacy?

[verdantverdure]

On the day the Covid Inquiry convenes I thought I'd ask your opinion on Eat Out To Help Out.

Covid case numbers and deaths were low, as we'd done a phased return out of the first lockdown.

Then we had Eat Out To Help Out and it all kicked off again within weeks.

What did you think? At the time? Now?

YABU Eat Out To Help Out was brilliant, I loved it.

YANBU Eat out To Help Out was a bloody stupid idea that was obviously going to help the virus spread, leading to another wave, more economic devastation, and tens of thousands of us dead. And it didn't even help the hospitality industry because it screwed up Christmas which is usually their most profitable quarter.

It was lunacy from a bunch of self-serving lunatics

The virus was going to spread however they ‘opened up’ society again. If it wasn’t during ‘eat out to help out’ it would have been when the school reopened (as it also did)

It was surely better than simply throwing more money at the decimated hospitality sector to try and give some hope that they'd still be viable businesses after lockdown, at least tax payers could get some enjoyment out of it. The real ridiculousness was lockdown itself, it didn't even follow the science. There needed to be mitigating actions for sure, but the government not listening to the scientists as they didn't want to be seen as backtracking is the real crime.

Exactly, it wasn't going anywhere. Eateries still have rules on social distancing etc but the summer was an opportunity to get money injected in the sector again as respiratory illneses are usually lower (plus people more likely to sit outside).

Still had*

Course you did. You had to have the money to pay for half of the meal before you got the other half paid for. Lots of people couldn’t afford to pay half - people on benefits, the elderly, disabled, etc. Only people who had disposable income benefited.

Behave ffs.

I certainly made the most of it, eating dinner out, 3 times a week. In hindsight it was probably wrong as then we had another wave of COVID and more people died.

No, really, you didn’t. Under the scheme a meal at Wetherspoons for example was £2.50. Less for some breakfast items. So actually it was quite likely that some on low income etc that wouldn’t NORMALLY spend on a meal out, could and did so.

it was also really only of benefit to those who were on furlough. those of us who worked like fucking demons while "looking after" kids all day weren't all that up for dinner out on a weekday

We used it lots and tried out local restaurants that we hadn't been to before, some of which were fantastic and we're now regular patrons of.

There must be a lot more rich people around than I knew if being able to go for out for an occasional meal even a McDonalds or Wetherspoons, and a half price one at that, means that people are wealthy.

Speak for yourself! Was a great thing to do after being at work all day, felt like life used to in ‘normal times’

Yes, I know. And that's what I'm saying - I think it was the wrong policy.

It should have included takeaways too - which would have injected even more into the restaurant sector, and meant the more vulnerable could participate as well

I thoroughly enjoyed it. Tried some places we hadn't been to before. Didn't get Covid, result.

it was also really only of benefit to those who were on furlough. those of us who worked like fucking demons while "looking after" kids all day weren't all that up for dinner out on a weekday

You do realise that not everyone, including people who worked through the pandemic, works Monday-Friday? I know plenty of people who worked through the pandemic and still participated.

Maybe you weren't but it doesn't mean only people on furlough (which by the way I'm sure was stressful and not the employees faults the government forced their industries to close) enjoyed it. Plenty of people did.

I liked the eat out to help out process, I think I may have been lucky though as the places we went to were book-in-advance and had very small, very distanced groups of no more than 3 people so it was pleasant. Everybody wore masks and stayed at a distance, everything was clean, it seemed a good idea at the time.

So listen to the program. It's good.

I think it was a silly idea. Not because of covid cases, but because people who were wanting to eat out would have done so regardless of the discount, restaurants were still limited in numbers due to social distancing, so they were full anyway.

I didn't use it, i thought it madness and a terrible waste of money, the billions spent could have been used to reward carers on NMW instead..... maybe then, we'd not be in the mess we are in now with Social Care?

Remember a lot of hospitality places got £10k and business rates relief too... certainly none of the ones around me in Cornwall went bust, they also did take a ways too.

Reckless use of public funds.

And Sunak shouldn't be allowed to forget what an irresponsible idea his self serving, populist policy was.

I thought it was a great idea. Given the impact of lockdown on the hospitality industry then anything to try and get the economy going again was sensible. But then again I absolutely do not believe we should ever have had a lockdown, so anything to mitigate its effects was sensible.

@WhereYouLeftIt

I did.

I found it a load of old waffle

It was bloody stupid.

It was obvious what the net result was going to be, DH and I ate out loads using it,but would have done so anyway.