DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Squeezing the life out of high streets

There are many reasons for the slow, apparently inexorable decline of the British high street.

Traditional food and clothing retailers have been priced out by mega-supermarkets and designer outlets, pedestrianisation and costly parking have deterred casual shoppers and, of course, the rise of the internet has made it easy to buy online.

In combination, these and other factors have had a devastating effect. More than 13,000 stores closed down last year, according to the Centre for Retail Research – a 28 per cent increase on 2023.

Worst hit were smaller independent shops, the kind that give variety and identity to high streets which might otherwise be dominated by drab chains.

One might think a government claiming to be pro-business and pro-growth would extend a helping hand to these beleaguered local retailers. Instead, it is making a desperate situation worse.

Coming down the line in April is a toxic mix of tax rises, staff costs and relief reductions conceived in Rachel Reeves’ harebrained Budget.

A National Insurance hike, steep rise in the minimum wage and cut in the business rate discount will simply be too much for many small traders to absorb, driving thousands more over the precipice. As a result, store closures this year are predicted to top 17,000, more than 80 per cent of them smaller retail and hospitality outlets.

Some may say that this is merely evolution, and that if they can’t stand on their own feet, they don’t deserve to survive. But the high street is more than simply an agglomeration of shops.

At its best, it is the beating heart of a community, with a balance of small independent traders, cafes and pubs, larger stores, offices and residential space.

It provides a hub for social as well as commercial activity and considerable local employment for both full and part-time workers. 

This doesn’t mean local businesses shouldn’t have to pay their way, but hammering them with taxes they simply can’t pay is short-sighted and profoundly damaging to the quality of British life.

The last government understood this, giving small traders rates relief of up to 75 per cent. 

That is now being slashed to 40 per cent, meaning their rates bill alone will rise by more than £5,000 this year.

So much for Labour’s promise of ‘a new spirit of partnership’ with business. How empty that pledge sounds today.

Still no clue on boats

On the subject of empty pledges, Yvette Cooper’s promise to ‘smash the gangs’ is looking emptier than Old Mother Hubbard’s cupboard.

Shortly before the election, she said: ‘No more gimmicks, it’s time to get a grip on small-boat crossings.’ So how’s that working out? 

In the six months since she became Home Secretary, arrivals have soared by almost a third compared with the same period in 2023. 

December saw a year-on-year rise of 200 per cent.

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent on December 29

Ms Cooper’s knee-jerk response is to give more powers to enforcement agencies. But is that really the answer?

The truth is that as long as migrants are prepared to pay to be smuggled across the Channel, there will always be traffickers willing to take their money.

What’s needed to break the business model is a deterrent to the migrants, such as sending them to a third country to be processed, rather than allowing them to stay here. Has the Home Secretary considered Rwanda?