The future of Britain's high streets was a recurring theme at Labour's conference in Liverpool, where MPs, business representatives and community organisations debated how to ease the pressures on small firms and bring more life back to town centres.
At a fringe organised by LabourList in partnership with the Post Office, Caerphilly MP Chris Evans identified business rates as a central concern for independent traders. "If I was to speak to any business owner, the issue they have is business rates," he said.
Post Office chief executive Neil Brocklehurst said rates were the issue postmasters raised with him most often. He told the panel that the rates bill for post offices had risen from approximately £13 million in 2024 to £43 million this year, adding that the combined pressure of rates, wages and energy costs was "brutal".
But speakers also argued that a successful high street must offer more than shops. Stafford MP Leigh Ingham called for town centres with more residents and services, including youth facilities. Mark Robinson, former chair of the government's High Streets Task Force, argued that relying too heavily on retail had left many towns vulnerable as shopping habits changed.
The same question shaped SME4Labour's conference programme. Its Britain's High Streets: How Do We Save Our Town Centres? fringe was organised in partnership with Deliveroo and chaired by Labour MP David Burton-Sampson. The published programme listed Deliveroo's UK and Ireland public affairs lead Beth Miller alongside MPs Jayne Kirkham, Sam Rushworth, Jim McMahon and Jessica Toale, Newham Mayor Forhad Hussain and Graeme Craig, chief executive of Places for London. Detailed public accounts of their individual contributions were not available at the time of writing.
SME4Labour also worked with E.ON UK on a business-energy breakfast. Speaking there, energy minister Martin McCluskey said the clean-power transition was about giving the country more control over energy supply and prices, "and that's as important for SMEs as it is for households". E.ON's Anthony Ainsworth cautioned that lower wholesale prices would not necessarily mean lower business bills if network and policy costs continued to rise.
Other SME4Labour sessions, according to its conference programme, were organised with Allica Bank on the industrial strategy and with the Road Haulage Association on trade and growth. They put access to finance, transport links and the costs of doing business alongside the more visible problem of vacant shops.
Power to Change brought a further perspective to the debate with a Sunday fringe on the "civic high street". Its published panel brought together Labour MPs Chris Curtis and Leigh Ingham, Financial Times retail correspondent Laura Onita and Jo Cooper of Sunderland community organisation Back on the Map. The organisation made the case for high streets that combine local businesses with homes, services and cultural and community spaces.
Taken together, the fringes showed the breadth of the challenge facing Labour. Rates and energy bills matter immediately to businesses trying to stay open; empty premises and changing shopping habits demand a longer-term response. The test now is whether the ideas discussed in Liverpool translate into practical support for the small firms and communities that depend on their high streets.
Disclosure: SME4Labour is chaired by Labour Home director Ibrahim Dogus.
