Struggling High Streets fuel sense of neglect for voters ahead of local elections

Failing High Streets fuel a wider sense of political discontent which could prove crucial in the upcoming elections for English councils in May. "It's not like it used to be." Debbie Tapper, who's lived around Walsall her whole life, recalls a bustling market that used to stretch the length of the High Street as she gestures sadly to the shops and stalls that remain. "But I'm not proud of the way the country is at the moment." The town faces many of the same challenges that plague High Streets across the country. Beyond the frustration this causes local residents, there's evidence it is fuelling a wider sense of political discontent which could prove crucial in the forthcoming elections for English councils in May. Luke Tryl, UK director of polling company More in Common, says: "It's clear that the public judge their local area and community by the state of the High Street.

People haven't got the money to spend." Sharday points to high rents and parking charges as barriers for businesses and shoppers. "You see all the stalls and they're just not here anymore." There have been efforts to improve High Streets across England, from central government funding to re-imagining the use of town centres with a mix of housing or public services like health centres. Last year, the Centre for Cities think tank found the performance of town centres was linked to the performance of local economies. It found one in 12 High Street units in London and Cambridge were empty, compared with close to one in five in Bradford. "Some High Streets are doing well, especially in and around London and the greater South East," according to the think tank's director of policy and research, Ant Breach.

"In places where people have less money to save or spend, the local High Street has suffered," he said. Breach described High Streets as one of the most "visible barometers" of how a local economy is faring, saying where High Streets are performing badly voters expect intervention which requires more than cosmetic change. Communities Secretary Steve Reed agrees that High Streets are one of the things people look at when they're judging whether politics is working. "Fixing High Streets is critical to showing people that politics is back on their side," he said. And we can't allow that situation to continue." The government has announced a £301m funding pot to revitalise High Streets, a wider £5.8bn "Pride in Place" scheme for people to improve their local areas, powers for councils to limit bookmakers and bring empty shops back to use, and plans to boost trading standards' ability to tackle "dodgy businesses".

But there is no easy solution to the High Street challenge given cash-strapped councils, pressured public services, sclerotic economic growth and regional inequalities. "The fact you see High Street shops are closing, you see shoplifting, rough sleeping, that proliferation of vape shops… and maybe you'll think my area is going to hell in a handcart. More in Common polling from last June suggested the sense of neglect that's often epitomised by declining High Streets is highest amongst Reform UK voters. The party says it would abolish business rates for pubs to drive footfall to High Streets, with further policies set to be announced in due course. A party spokesman said: "Sky-high business rates and parking charges imposed by local authorities that don't understand business is crippling the great British High Street." The Green Party leader Zack Polanski has launched a three-step "plan to revive High Streets", including affordable leases for local business, powers to bring long-term empty shops back into public use and citizens' assemblies.

The challenge of declining High Streets isn't new. There have been attempts to find solutions with success in some places, but in many town centres voters still look around and see decline. Now there's a plethora of policies and pledges on offer, but perhaps one central point: politicians ignore the plight of the High Street at their peril. England local elections 2026 Conservative Party Reform UK Failing High Streets fuel a wider sense of political discontent which could prove crucial in the upcoming elections for English councils in May. Struggling High Streets fuel sense of neglect for voters ahead of local elections