Riots are a reason to regain the high street

The rioters are long gone with many already sentenced but the clean-up operation for England’s retailers continues.

According to research by the British Retail Consortium which surveyed retailers amounting to 27 per cent of UK retail sales, 7500 hours and 11,000 staff members were affected by the violence.

With many retailers especially independents having to make staff cuts it is unsurprising that a number of shop staff “… indicated that they will be considering their careers in retail.”

However, we should not lose sight of the fact that these were reasonably isolated incidents in a few locations across the country and should not be seen as a reason to stay away from the high street. Indeed it was gratifying to see residents of towns like Clapham taking to the streets with brooms in a show of solidarity.

There is much talk of the death of the British high street and yet the rioters have shown that it is still at the heart of the country’s life and we must do all we can to claim it back for the majority.