Labour will today promote its plan to revitalise ailing high streets through a £700m fund to help small businesses with soaring energy bills.
Leader Keir Starmer and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves will be in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, this afternoon as the area prepares for local elections next month and will outline a five-point plan to kick-start high street activity and growth.
Labour’s leader will commit the party to working in partnership with businesses and communities to ‘get our high streets thriving again’.
His proposals include cutting business rates for small firms - a move Labour said will be funded by increasing the digital services tax paid by online companies such as Amazon.
Labour claimed that policy alone could save each high street business around £2,600 annually.
The party will also propose an investment of £700m to support small businesses’ energy bills by offering vouchers for efficiency measures such as insulation or heat pumps - funded through the windfall tax on oil and gas firms.
Its five-point plan includes measures to tackle late payments to high street businesses, make use of empty shop orders and reduce anti-social behaviour in town centres.
This article was first published by The MJ (£).
