UK socialist government first bankrupts the high street, then partially bails it out – within the bounds that it sets to pick its winners and losers
plus massive salaries to heads of QANGOs and police union bosses From Brave AI:
PETER HALLIGAN
“The UK Labour Government’s 2024/25 high street support plans include a £5 billion commitment to the Pride in Place programme, announced in September 2024. This funding is intended to support 339 locations across England, empowering local communities to drive meaningful change in their high streets over the next decade. Key actions under this plan include:
· “Empowering local neighbourhood boards to decide how funds are spent on creating thriving public spaces.
· Introducing High Street Rental Auctions to tackle persistent vacancies by allowing local authorities to auction off empty premises.
· Banning upwards-only rent reviews in commercial leases through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, promoting fairer rental conditions.
· Permanently lowering business rates multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality, and leisure properties with rateable values below £500,000, starting April 2026.
· Supporting small businesses through the Plan for Small Businesses, which aims to cut administrative burdens by 25% and introduce laws to stamp out late payments.
Additionally, the government has committed to rolling out banking hubs to guarantee face-to-face banking in every community and recruiting 13,000 more neighbourhood police and PCSOs to tackle anti-social behaviour and shoplifting.
The full implementation is being delivered through a combination of central funding, local authority powers, and legislative reforms.
Sounds ambitious and helpful, right? Let’s put it into some context:
“In 2018, 4,397,240 people were employed in businesses on British high streets, representing 14% of all employment in the UK. This figure includes workers across retail, offices, accommodation and food services, and other sectors. Employment in high street pubs and bars stood at 121,440 in 2018, while licensed restaurants employed 212,520 people. Unlicensed restaurants and cafes accounted for a further 123,260 employees on high streets.
“There are nearly 7,000 high streets in Great Britain, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), defined as clusters of 15 or more retail addresses within 150 metres. As of 2024, the UK’s high street retail sector includes over 320,000 retail businesses, with significant growth in specific sectors such as telecommunications equipment stores (up 44.4% since 2020), games and toy stores (up 44%), and food and beverage markets (up 20.4%). “
4.4 million people employed on 7,000 high streets for that £5 billion of “Pride in Place” government welfare.
That’s a little over £700,000 per high street and a little over £1,300 per employee.
Those 4.4 million employees are probably earning close to the real living wage of around £13 to £14/hour. Call it £14 for 40 hours a week, 0 weeks a year equals £28,000 a year. the Employers National Insurance starting in April 2026 at 15 per cent above £5,000 = 28,000-5,000 23,000 times 15 per cent = £3,450 per annum.
Handout of £1,300 tax of £3,500. Net cost per employee the high street – £2,200 – genius!
Then there’s ‘net zero’
Per Brave AI
“In 2020:
“UK businesses’ average utility costs varied significantly by size and sector. For electricity, microbusinesses (using 5,000–15,000 kWh annually) paid between £900 and £2,244, small businesses (15,000–25,000 kWh) paid £2,367–£3,660, and medium-sized businesses (25,000–50,000 kWh) paid £3,774–£7,234 annually.
For gas, microbusinesses paid £400–£820, small businesses £820–£1,458, and medium-sized businesses £1,458–£2,239 annually.
Micro businesses paid around£1,300 to ££3,000
“IN 2025:
Small shops (10–49 employees) typically used 15,000–25,000 kWh of electricity and 10,000–25,000 kWh of gas annually. Their electricity bills ranged from £2,367 to £3,660 per year, or £197 to £305 per month, while gas bills were between £820 and £1,458 per year, or £68 to £121 per month
Total utility bill for small shops for 2025 is around £3,000 to £5,000 a year
Small shops/micro businesses utility bills have increased from around £1,500 a year to ££3,000 to 5,000 a year – more than double/triple In the last5 years.
Even more genius!
Socialism works I evil and malicious ways.
I will leave you with this little gem.
Salary of the chair of the newly rationalised railway:
Labour’s rail nationalisation tsar to get £300,000 for working two days a week
“Great British Railways (GBR) will pay its chairman a salary of between £200,000 and £300,000 a year, according to a job advertisement published by the Government. GBR’s first chairman will be appointed by the Department for Transport for a three-year term, with an “anticipated time commitment” of at least 2.5 days per week.
“That would equate to a pro rata salary of £600,000, on a par with Mark Wild, the chief executive of HS2, which is owned by the DfT, and almost double Sir Keir Starmer’s salary.
“Shadow GBR is a transitional organisation established in September 2024 to facilitate the renationalisation of UK rail services. Laura Shoaf, the current chairman of Shadow GBR and a former chief of the West Midlands combined authority, is paid £1,600 for each working day, amounting to a salary of around £416,000 on a pro rata basis.
Yeah, really and you thought the train drivers got a good deal!
Theres’s more – trade union bosses are in on the scam!
“Mukund Krishna, the chief executive of the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), received a total annual remuneration of £701,100 for both 2024 and 2025. This includes a £342,000 base salary, a £342,000 100% retention bonus, and a 5% pension contribution of £17,000. His total pay over two years amounts to £1.4 million, making him the highest-paid staff association or union leader in the UK
Onwards!
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This article (UK socialist government first bankrupts the high street, then partially bails it out – within the bounds that it sets to pick its winners and losers) was created and published by Peter Halligan and is republished here under “Fair Use”
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