Shadow Chancellor to outline Labour’s vision to reverse ten years of town centre decline under the Conservatives
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EMBARGOED UNTIL 2230Hrs, SUNDAY 21 MARCH Anneliese Dodds, Labour’s
Shadow Chancellor, will today (Monday 22 March) promise that a vote
for Labour at the May elections will mean a “bright future for
Britain’s high streets”. On a visit to Birmingham city centre with
Labour’s candidate for West Midlands Mayor Liam Byrne, Dodds will
launch Labour’s five-point plan to “put communities first” and
support Britain’s proud high streets. Calling the loss of...Request free trial
EMBARGOED UNTIL 2230Hrs, SUNDAY 21 MARCH Anneliese Dodds, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, will today (Monday 22 March) promise that a vote for Labour at the May elections will mean a “bright future for Britain’s high streets”. On a visit to Birmingham city centre with Labour’s candidate for West Midlands Mayor Liam Byrne, Dodds will launch Labour’s five-point plan to “put communities first” and support Britain’s proud high streets. Calling the loss of the city’s flagship John Lewis store “heartbreaking” and condemning the Conservative Government for “washing its hands of our high streets” over the last ten years, in a speech in Birmingham the Shadow Chancellor will argue for urgent action to support high streets across the West Midlands and the UK. She will commit Labour to:
Highlighting the scale of the challenge, she will say: “In the ten years before the pandemic hit the West Midlands lost over a thousand shops. “And during the same time period, across the UK as a whole we lost over 7,000 shops from our high streets. “And the pandemic has hit Birmingham hard, with footfall in the city centre taking longer to recover here than anywhere other than London and Glasgow. “For our country’s second city, this loss of custom and shops is devastating.” “For some of our smaller towns, it’s existential.” Warning the Conservatives “economically illiterate” hammer blows to family finances will make the problem worse, Dodds will say: “They’re giving our key workers a real-terms pay cut. A pay cut for our teaching assistants, our police officers, members of our armed forces – and, yes, our NHS Covid heroes. “At the end of the month, they’re forcing through a massive council tax hike. And let’s be absolutely clear: that’s the decision of the Westminster Conservatives, not of local Labour councillors. “In six months’ time they’re cutting £20 a week from social security, just as unemployment is set to peak. “All of that takes money out of people’s pockets that they can’t then spend on our local high streets. “Instead, Labour would protect family finances and consumer confidence.” Arguing that high street businesses are competing with online retailers with “one hand tied behind their backs”, Dodds will demand urgent action to level the playing field: “We can’t continue with a situation where five US tech firms account for £1.3bn in lost corporation tax every year, while high street shops pay business rates under a system that hasn’t been reformed for years. “Tomorrow the Government should set out what it plans to do about this. On so-called ‘Tax Day’, the Conservatives must level the playing field between high street businesses and giant online firms.” Looking ahead to the elections, she will say: “On May 6th, people here in Birmingham and in every part of the country can send a message loud and clear: that they’ve had enough of this Government wringing its hands and then failing to act. “They can vote for change. For hope. For a Labour Party that will put communities first, and promises a bright future for our high streets.” ENDS Notes to editors
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