Ok yes – I did put on my rose-tinted nostalgia specs this week when I opened the debate in my name on the closure of high street services. I talked about my childhood home town of Tain. I mentioned the greengrocer that sold broken biscuits, I mentioned the chemist stacking the toilet paper in huge pyramids, and I mentioned the dear old country solicitor who never seemed to send out a bill…
That’s how Tain’s high street was – and indeed, in more recent times, both my daughters worked in high street shops, one in the chemist and the other in the green grocers.
But oh, that same street today is a shadow of what it once was. Sadly, it’s the same story in far too many rural communities the length and breadth of the United Kingdom. Changing shopping patterns, the internet, and the advent of giant supermarkets and out of town shopping centres have meant that the winds of change have blown over our towns. You almost expect to see a tumbleweed whirling in the breeze…
What fired me up to apply for the debate was the particular impending closure of the last bank branch in the huge county of Sutherland. Ever since I was first elected seven years ago, there has been a dreary litany of these closures. One after another. The network of local bank branches that we once enjoyed have been shutting their doors for the last time. What if you are elderly and do not have the capacity to navigate online banking? What if you do, but you struggle with adequate broadband connectivity? Alas, this is a reality in much of my constituency, the largest and most remote in the UK mainland.
Most recently, I spoke to an elderly constituent who received a suspicious call asking her to transfer money from one account to another. She awoke the next day and wondered if it had been a scam. At the local bank she was able to speak to an advisor about safeguarding her account and identifying fraud. Luckily, in this case, and damage or loss was prevented. In the future when this branch closes, it could be a very different story…
Going back to my rose-tinted specs, the high street was a lively place, an opportunity to pass the time of day and talk and greet old friends and generally feel that you are not alone in the world. That was the social importance of vibrant high streets in our rural communities. Today, we all know that it is not quite the same.
What was hugely encouraging about the debate this week was that when I sat down and other MPs rose to speak, it was quite clear that we were all singing from the same hymn sheet. I heard from the Outer Hebrides, the Welsh Marches, from East Anglia. In these places it was exactly the same story and, like me, other Members were deeply bothered by what was happening. There was no playing down the nature of the problem that looks like an unwelcome restructuring of how we do local society in this country. I am also bound to say that in absolute fairness, the response by the Minister was encouraging and supportive of my proposals – which included an overhaul of the business rates system and rent caps – which could make it more feasible for entrepreneurs to operate in rural areas like ours.
Of course, I realise that we must do far more to encourage shops and businesses to re-establish in town centres but there is huge potential. Grants, community ownership, and taxation reform could all be possible solutions. An excellent current example is the impending establishment of the banking hub in Wick later this year – which will provide the commercial space for banking advisors from various branches to provide face-to-face customer service according to a rota. It is a solution I have been calling for, for a very long time and I am looking forward to seeing its successful fruition.
At the end of the day, being a good constituency MP is about identifying problems, exploring solutions and doing everything in your power to implement the most suitable option. A lot of this time it involves persuading the Government of the day to act accordingly. I believe my debate was a step in the right direction.
Grants, community ownership, and taxation reform could revitalise our town centres
