High street pressures and business rates in focus before Budget
A discussion on high street decline covered empty shops, parking charges, business rates and possible Budget measures, while the government pointed to a 4.3 billion pound rates support package.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Ahead of the Budget, a broadcast discussion has put the pressures on the high street and the burden of business rates under the spotlight. The segment featured businessman James Constantinou in conversation with the host, Lee Anderson, who said successive governments had made life harder for town centres.
The discussion described high streets blighted by empty shops, with vacant units often taken by vape shops, Turkish barbers and sweet shops. Parking came in for particular criticism. The host recalled free or easy parking in the 1970s, and cited a recent example of a shopper paying 20 pounds to park in Woking for shopping and lunch. He argued that charging people to visit town centres works against growth, especially when out of town retail parks offer thousands of free spaces and online retailers such as Amazon compete for custom.
Business rates were another central theme. Constantinou said he pays about 250,000 pounds a year in business rates across stores, and that in some cases the charge is nearly 50 per cent of rent. He said it is hard to see where the money goes, adding that 68 per cent goes to local councils and 32 per cent to central government. Separate costs such as rubbish collection add to the pressure, he said.
The guest also pointed to employment law, zero hours contracts and crime. He said some shops face shoplifters who threaten staff with knives, and that businesses need protection. On zero hours contracts, he said some workers, including students, value the flexibility, and making such arrangements harder would not be pro-business. He called for a package of reform rather than a single fix.
With the Budget due in a couple of weeks, the discussion turned to possible measures. Constantinou suggested freezing employer National Insurance contributions at 15 per cent for perhaps five years, saying it would encourage entrepreneurs to take risks. He noted that six out of 10 businesses fail within five years and said new owners often remortgage homes and sacrifice holidays. Existing relief for pubs and other sectors was described as welcome but not enough, more of a sound bite than a solution. A pub landlord was cited as saying his pub is full but he makes no money because he is taxed to the hilt, and the discussion linked that pressure to changed social habits after COVID.
A government spokesperson said: 'We are making the business environment work better for companies of all sizes through our small business plan taking action on late payments and have announced a 4.3 billion pound business rate support package. Later this year, we'll also publish a high street strategy setting out how we'll make sure high streets thrive across the country.'
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Business rates can reach around 250,000 pounds a year and nearly 50 per cent of rent in some cases. | |
| High street empty shops are being filled by vape shops, Turkish barbers and sweet shops. | |
| The government said it had announced a 4.3 billion pound business rates support package and would publish a high street strategy later this year. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
GB News framed high street decline as a problem caused by government tax and regulation, with the host and a businessman guest arguing that parking charges, business rates and employment rules are holding back retailers. The segment was sympathetic to small business and treated the coming Budget as a test of whether ministers will offer meaningful relief rather than publicity. It gave limited space to other perspectives, ending with a government statement on rate support and a future high street strategy.
- “successive governments have done their very best, that's what I feel anyway, to kill off our high streets”
- “we pay about 250 grand a year on business rates amongst our age stores. Sometimes the business rates are nearly 50% of your rent.”
- “It needs to be a package of reform really that promotes the high street. It's not just one simple fix in my view.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.