FORMER Labour Party leader and now Shadow Business Secretary Ed Miliband has called for the UK Government to stand up for businesses.
He wants to see a commitment that those hit by unexpected Tier 4 restrictions have access to the economic support they need to survive through a Hospitality and High Street Fightback Fund.
Almost 175,000 businesses in Tier 4 areas across London, the South East and the East of England have been rocked by last-minute instructions to close, including more than 13,000 hairdressers,8,600 gyms and more than 45,000 retail businesses that will have stocked up or taken bookings for the crucial Christmas trading period.
Currently the vast majority of businesses are only able to access an emergency cash grant worth around half or a third of the support on offer during the national lockdown in March.
Labour has called for the £2 billion (€2.2 billion) recently returned to the Treasury by supermarkets in unneeded business rates relief to be urgently redeployed into a Hospitality and High Streets Fightback Fund to help struggling businesses on the high street and those excluded from support.
Thank you for taking the time to read this news article “Labour Party calls for UK Hospitality and High Street Fightback Fund”.
I’m no free marketeer but the high street and pubs have been in decline for years. What to do with the empty shop space?