BROMSGROVE MP Bradley Thomas writes for the Standard in this month’s Westminster Diary.
OUR high streets matter.
They are a barometer of the vitality where we live, both economically and socially, for good or for ill.
But we all know our town centres are changing.
There’s been a perfect storm – changing retail habits to online shopping and social habits.
We’ve seen a hollowing out of high streets and a different type of retail moving in, often with different problems.
Low-grade retail and illicit or illegal activity are significant factors in the vitality of our high streets.
We must also acknowledge increasing costs businesses face, including business rates, utility bills and rising labour costs.
The Government needs to abolish business rates for thousands of shops, hospitality venues, pubs and small retailers across the country to give our high street traders a boost. I voted for this in Parliament.
Far too often our high streets are also becoming a very visible front for illicit or illegal activity. It’s a problem in plain sight that none of us can deny.
The tools at the disposal of the Government to tackle this are not used often enough, there are not enough deterrents and there isn’t enough strong and visible action to clampdown on this behaviour and prevent it from recurring.
It’s believed up to a half of vape shops and a large proportion of American candy stores have ties to organised crime.
Over the past 12 months, 3,600 shops have had illegal goods seized, and it’s estimated by the National Crime Agency that £1billion of criminal cash is laundered through high street retail.
The state must bring together the Home Office, councils, police forces, and the Treasury in its role in clamping down on money laundering.
The unquestionable effect of illegal migration and county lines sits at the centre of much of this.
Too many of the relevant powers are weak or dispersed to authorities that don’t have the will or ability to stop the problem.
Enforcement and the state’s ability have to be at the centre.
We must restore pride in our civic areas and strengthen the state and its ability to identify and tackle these problems.
We should not be afraid to use the teeth of the state to clamp down on this – we need to crack down on illegal, illicit or low-grade retail to ensure the vitality of our high streets continues.
