PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP
MONDAY 22 APRIL 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Alistair Strathern MP, the Labour candidate for the new constituency of Hitchin, has today backed Labour’s pledges to end the decline of our high streets and stick up for what makes our local high streets so special.
Residents in Hitchin and across local towns and villages have consistently made clear their worries about the hollowing out of local high streets, with recent vacant units prompting concern across the town and on social media.
Labour’s five-point plan includes reforming business rates and allowing councils to take control of empty lots, to allow independent small businesses to thrive. Labour also has a plan for 13,000 more neighbourhood police and PCSOs, to ensure shopworkers and customers feel safe in town centres across Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.
Ambitious new policies prove Labour have taken residents concerns seriously, releasing their Plan for Small Businesses to ensure high streets can thrive and working people and local businesses have access to banking services.
Commenting, Alistair Strathern MP said:
“From great cafes like Fussey & Baer and Coffee Lab, to brilliant food outlets like Little Monkey and Bombay Bites, we have so many brilliant businesses across Hitchin town centre.
“But while we are lucky to have so many thriving independent stores, I know how concerning recent closures and vacant units have been.
“Our high streets are the beating heart of our communities and we need to do more to stick up for them. I’m proud that Labour has a plan to do exactly that.
“Scrapping the outdated business rates system, giving councils powers to take over vacant units and guaranteeing face-to-face banking in every community are just some of the measures Labour will introduce to revive our much-loved high streets.”
Notes to Editors:
Read more about Labour’s 5-point plan here. Labour’s 5-point plan to breathe life into Britain’s high streets – The Labour Party
Alistair Strathern is the Labour MP for Mid Bedfordshire, standing for new constituency of Hitchin as the boundaries change for the next election.
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