Government’s ‘Pride in Place’ programme is a welcome boost for our struggling high streets says Usdaw

As part of his address to delegates in Liverpool today, Steve Reed said: “Too many of Britain’s bustling high streets have seen local shops and pubs boarded up, graffiti-covered metal shutters come down and rubbish clutter up our pavements. That decline is not inevitable. It happened because for 14 years a Tory government told the country they were levelling up, when they were really holding people down. 

“In the words of our party’s founders, we believe in an irreversible shift of wealth and power in favour of working people. Not just wealth. Power. That is why this Government will permanently shift power out of Whitehall into every region, town, village and community in this country. And it will help to restore those battered high streets. The ‘Pride in Place’ programme is a big step forward on that journey. 

“The 244 neighbourhoods that have suffered the most decline over the last 14 Tory years will get up to £20 million each to kickstart their recovery. And local people, this is crucial, local people will have the power to decide for themselves how that money will be spent because it’s local people who know their own areas the best. This is how we give hope back to communities that Reform is so desperate to tear apart. A shared pride in your home town is the bridge away from decline, and by bringing communities together we bring our whole country back together again.”

Joanne Thomas – Usdaw general secretary says: “Usdaw has long campaigned for Government support for our struggling high streets and the retail industry. The new ‘Pride in Place’ programme is a major step in the right direction and will make a real difference to the communities that benefit from it. The UK retail sector is an essential part of our economic and community infrastructure. Retail directly employs nearly three million people, with a further 2.7 million within UK supply chains. A thriving retail sector is clearly a central element of Labour’s Plan for Growth.

“High numbers of job losses and store closures over the last decade have scarred our high streets and communities, so the Government is right to address this issue. Alongside the ‘Pride in Place’ programme the Government is also tackling retail crime with new legislation and additional police funding, as well as delivering a new deal for workers to help make jobs more secure and better paid. We continue to engage with the Government on business rates, as we seek a level playing field on taxation between in-store retailers and those online.”