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| Grant Shapps leaves behind unfinished job on UK's high streets | Grant Shapps leaves behind unfinished job on UK's high streets |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| It was supposed to be so different. He promised to kick start a renaissance and make high streets the beating hearts of their communities. But when Grant Shapps dropped his high street responsibilities to become the new Conservative Party co-chairman this week, he left behind not so much an unfinished job as a well-wrought catastrophe. | |
| There was a small irony in that Shapps' day of departure coincided with news that the number of empty shops in Britain had risen again. In the previous weeks, tales of bitter recriminations and dysfunctional breakdown had emerged around Shapps' beloved Mary Portas Pilots. | There was a small irony in that Shapps' day of departure coincided with news that the number of empty shops in Britain had risen again. In the previous weeks, tales of bitter recriminations and dysfunctional breakdown had emerged around Shapps' beloved Mary Portas Pilots. |
| People were resigning en masse from town teams, councils being accused of being excessively controlling and the whole project being more about entertainment and reality TV rather than the hard work of bringing communities together. Shapps was fast turning the serious business of regenerating high streets into a farce. A headline this week read: 'Are the Portas Pilots now dead in the water?' | |
| In the north west there's now a 20.1 per cent vacancy rate on high streets with deep-rooted problems that Shapps never had any intention of tackling. I say this because from day one it became blatantly obvious that Shapps wasn't interested in outcomes. He was more interested in column inches and air time. | In the north west there's now a 20.1 per cent vacancy rate on high streets with deep-rooted problems that Shapps never had any intention of tackling. I say this because from day one it became blatantly obvious that Shapps wasn't interested in outcomes. He was more interested in column inches and air time. |
| He was guided by gimmicks, not the hard business of devising policy to make a difference on the ground. Rather than adopting a language that spoke to businesses he talked like the leader of a circus, evoking Willy Wonka and promising "golden tickets" for towns he selected to become Portas Pilots. It was a high wire act and for a while he pulled it off, creating a great media buzz. | He was guided by gimmicks, not the hard business of devising policy to make a difference on the ground. Rather than adopting a language that spoke to businesses he talked like the leader of a circus, evoking Willy Wonka and promising "golden tickets" for towns he selected to become Portas Pilots. It was a high wire act and for a while he pulled it off, creating a great media buzz. |
| But it soon started to wear thin and serious questions remained. Like how can you really be doing everything possible to support retailers when you introduce the biggest increase in business rates in 20-years? The government received a £350million business rates windfall and spent less than £20million on Portas Pilots, which is a mere quarter of what the Government spent on the AV vote. This wasn't so much austerity politics; it was holding the high street up to ridicule. | But it soon started to wear thin and serious questions remained. Like how can you really be doing everything possible to support retailers when you introduce the biggest increase in business rates in 20-years? The government received a £350million business rates windfall and spent less than £20million on Portas Pilots, which is a mere quarter of what the Government spent on the AV vote. This wasn't so much austerity politics; it was holding the high street up to ridicule. |
| Businesses on the high street saw through it, even if the media didn't. I've lost count of the number of businesses who've told me that excessively high business rates had made their business no longer viable. When I put this to Shapps on Twitter a short while back, the day before it was announced that Britain was back in recession, he made a hopeless attempt to defend the 5.6% rise he oversaw. His argument was rubbished by all corners of the Twittersphere and he quickly deleted his tweets. | Businesses on the high street saw through it, even if the media didn't. I've lost count of the number of businesses who've told me that excessively high business rates had made their business no longer viable. When I put this to Shapps on Twitter a short while back, the day before it was announced that Britain was back in recession, he made a hopeless attempt to defend the 5.6% rise he oversaw. His argument was rubbished by all corners of the Twittersphere and he quickly deleted his tweets. |
| Shapps' style of delivery was all about milking the media. Businesses were an afterthought. He wasn't interested in thorny issues like credit insurance and thought he could get away with a big hike in business rates during a recession. But he couldn't avoid reality. Retail insolvencies went up by 10 per cent over the last quarter and more and more business chiefs began to speak out. The chief executive of Kurt Geiger, Britain's third largest shoe retailer was the latest this week. | Shapps' style of delivery was all about milking the media. Businesses were an afterthought. He wasn't interested in thorny issues like credit insurance and thought he could get away with a big hike in business rates during a recession. But he couldn't avoid reality. Retail insolvencies went up by 10 per cent over the last quarter and more and more business chiefs began to speak out. The chief executive of Kurt Geiger, Britain's third largest shoe retailer was the latest this week. |
| "At our store in the Metro Centre in Newcastle we pay £160,000 a year in business rates," he said. "It basically makes the store completely unviable. When we sit down and explain this to our American owners, they say, 'What are you getting for this £160,000?' and we actually have no idea." | "At our store in the Metro Centre in Newcastle we pay £160,000 a year in business rates," he said. "It basically makes the store completely unviable. When we sit down and explain this to our American owners, they say, 'What are you getting for this £160,000?' and we actually have no idea." |
| Whether Shapps ever bothered to listen to comments like this is uncertain. | Whether Shapps ever bothered to listen to comments like this is uncertain. |
| But beneath his high wire circus act was a very different reality on the ground that was all about survival and trying to make a living in a very unforgiving economic climate. In many parts of the country now bricks and mortar retail is no longer viable. We don't need a dizzying circus act trying to divert attention from this; we need a sober assessment of what's needed to save our high streets from irreversible decline. | But beneath his high wire circus act was a very different reality on the ground that was all about survival and trying to make a living in a very unforgiving economic climate. In many parts of the country now bricks and mortar retail is no longer viable. We don't need a dizzying circus act trying to divert attention from this; we need a sober assessment of what's needed to save our high streets from irreversible decline. |
| At this moment, no minister has stepped forward to assume responsibility for the high street. After the reshuffle, Mary Portas was asked on Twitter who she thought would assume the remit. "I don't have a clue," she responded. "Hoping for someone with real commitment ongoing…" | At this moment, no minister has stepped forward to assume responsibility for the high street. After the reshuffle, Mary Portas was asked on Twitter who she thought would assume the remit. "I don't have a clue," she responded. "Hoping for someone with real commitment ongoing…" |
| You can safely assume that she didn't mean Shapps. What we need now is a serious operator not a publicity hungry dilettante. | You can safely assume that she didn't mean Shapps. What we need now is a serious operator not a publicity hungry dilettante. |
| Simon Danczuk is Labour MP for Rochdale and Parliamentary Private Secretary for the Shadow Business Secretary, Chuka Umunna. |