Restaurant owners in one of the UK's most affluent market towns said they are now "running month to month" and instead of thriving they are barely "surviving", and could even shut their doors for good if the Chancellor raises VAT in the November 26 Budget . Even Marlborough in Wiltshire, known for its thriving independents and busy high street is showing signs of strain. Restaurant owners said the crisis has reached a point they never imagined with tax hikes, soaring bills and what they describe as "bad decisions from government."

Daniel Bond who has been running Dan's at The Crown, an independent restaurant in Marlborough for over 25 years, said the crisis worsened after the last Budget, when ministers brushed off warnings about the £3.2 billion hit to hospitality. He said: "They

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