Our high streets are not just places where we shop. They are the arteries of our communities. They run through our towns and cities both physically and emotionally.
The small businesses that create local jobs and sell local goods; the shops that know our names and ask after our kids; the cafés that know our coffee order; the bookshops that nudge us toward a title they know we’ll love. They are the lifeblood of our community – and for many people, a lifeline too.
But across the country, people are worried by the hollowing out of their local high street. The boarded-up windows and “To Let” signs don’t just mean lost shops – they represent the slow fraying of community life.
That is why, on the Business and Trade Committee, we have been calling in small businesses to tell us what the problems really are.
Earlier this year I visited Emma and her brilliant team at Essentials Beauty Salon in Castle Bromwich. Emma spoke with passion about the challenges she faces. For her and thousands like her, the VAT system is punishing in ways that simply do not make sense. It was that conversation which convinced me to push for a new inquiry into small businesses – to give them the voice they deserve in Parliament.
Our high streets face competition from online shopping, from competitors who will never ask after your mum or pick up your shopping when you drop your bags.
Fairness is what our high streets are asking for. A level playing field. Because let’s face it: a community without a thriving high street isn’t a community at all. If we want bustling towns and proud neighbourhoods, we must stand with the small businesses who make them tick.
Energy bills, business rates, national insurance, VAT – all of them are bearing down on small businesses. And what’s the result? Fewer jobs, fewer opening hours, fewer places for us to meet and mingle. Our high streets are being priced out of existence.
The Government’s taken a step in the right direction – cutting business rates for shops, pubs and cafés from 2026, funded by asking the top one percent of high-value properties, such as large warehouses used by online giants to pay more to support the high-street. And yes, £ billion for the British Business Bank will help small firms get the finance they need. I’m keen to see the impact these policies make to our high streets, but the government needs to be ready to do more. This is just a start.
We need fairer tax. We need a proper look at business rates. We need energy costs tackled. And we need a strategy that gives hospitality, retail and beauty the respect they deserve as businesses.
The message is simple. Protect our high streets and we protect our communities.
