VAT and its equivalents in other countries is in my opinion the most shameful tax; in an ideal world it would just be scrapped.
However as you say the money needs to come from somewhere. Personally I think a good compromise would be to begin by reforming it: it should be removed from some things entirely, like staple foods, fuel, and other things a poor family would spend the vast majority of their income on (that doesn't go towards accommodation). It should be lowered to below 10% for non-luxury non-essentials, like most clothing (I'd even put cheap clothing in the 'no VAT bracket'), many of the beneficial but non-staple foods, etc. Expensive luxury goods and services should still be taxed at 20%; maybe even raise it to 25% to help make up the difference.
The rest of the shortfall ought to be made up through corporate tax.
That's my suggestion, for what it's worth.