High street decline aids the rise of Reform UK

Up and down Britain there are boarded-up shops. Banks and department stores have been replaced by vape shops, barbers and bookmakers.

- Richard Partington

Shoplifting is at a record high, local are services cut, and public frustration is mounting.

High street decline is perfect campaign fodder for Nigel Farage's Reform UK. Research shows support for Reform is higher in areas with the biggest rise in persistent high street vacancy rates. In 2024, almost 13,000 shops, about 36 a day, pulled down their shutters for good in the UK.

Closures are most pronounced in the north of England, the Midlands and deprived coastal towns where Reform ran Labour closest at the general election.

In-depth polling by YouGov and the Faster Horses data company shows 62% of voters considering backing Reform think their local area is in decline. "It's just souldestroying to watch your local area turn to shit," one focus group participant told the researchers.

For many, this decay reflects the country at large. Britain has "gone to the dogs", with its best days in the past - despite the promises of successive governments to turn things around. For millions, levelling up has not materialised.