We have a new prime minister, and Andy Burnham has moved fast. A cap on bus fares. A cut to VAT on household electricity bills. And now, a 20 per cent cut in business rates for pubs, clubs and live music venues.
I understand why hospitality gets the headlines. Pubs are visible, they are loved, and they make for a good photo opportunity. But I must ask the question that thousands of independent retailers are asking me right now: What about the rest of the high street?
This is not the first time hospitality has been singled out for special treatment on business rates. It happened last year too, when changes to the system left many shops facing bills that have more than doubled since 2024, while pubs picked up a discount. Now it has happened again and stores that sit either side of the local pub are left carrying an ever-heavier load. Seventeen thousand shops closed in 2025. Many thousands of jobs went with them. That number will keep rising if we carry on treating one sector as the whole story of the high street.
This is not about begrudging pubs their support. It is about fairness. A high street only works as a high street when all of it is thriving, not just the parts that make the best TV package.
If Mr Burnham is serious about a high street renaissance in every postcode, and his early messaging suggests he is, then he needs a plan that goes further than hospitality. That means permanent reform of business rates for all high street businesses, not a piecemeal discount for one sector at a time. It means finally getting to grips with online marketplace sellers who avoid VAT and undercut shops that play by the rules. And it means closing the low-value import loophole that lets cheap goods arrive from overseas without paying their fair share of tax, while our members compete with one hand tied behind their back.
Independent retailers are not asking to be treated better than anyone else. They are asking not to be treated as an afterthought. They employ people in every town and city in the country, and they keep high streets recognisable as high streets, rather than rows of empty shopfronts.
If the prime minister wants to see what a thriving high street looks like, he does not need to look far. He just needs to look at the thousands of independents who never stopped showing up for their towns, rain or shine, budget or no budget.
Andrew Goodacre Photo: Handout