Kemi Badenoch pledges to abolish business rates for 250,000 retailers to boost high street

Kemi Badenoch has pledged to abolish business rates for 250,000 retailers and boost police numbers to kick-start a high street boom. She says the move will help revive Britain's ailing town centres, which are "suffering" under Labour.

The Conservative leader's bold blueprint also includes slashing energy costs and cutting red tape to help high street retailers flourish. Her four-pronged plan, which would be introduced if the Tories win the next election, gives a massive boost to the Daily Express's Save Our High Streets Crusade.

She said: "Labour's job tax is hitting our high streets hard - shops, cafes and leisure facilities are all suffering.

"More and more stores are boarded up, pubs are closing down at an alarming rate. And that means thousands of workers are losing their jobs."

Currently, eligible retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses can receive a 40% discount on their business rates, up to a cap of £110,000.

Under the Tory plans, business rates will be ditched altogether, up to the same cap.

They say the move will free up a quarter of a million businesses from ever-increasing tax rises, which include Rachel Reeves's punishing National Insurance hike.

The Beer and Pub Association has warned that more than 2,000 pubs are at risk of closure next year - the equivalent to a loss of more than 12,000 jobs and six closures a day.

But it says a cut in the business rate multiplier of 20p in the pound for pubs could keep approximately 800 open and save more than 5,400 at-risk jobs.

Mrs Badenoch said her high street pledge, which includes hiring 10,000 extra police officers, will target the scourge of shoplifting.

"Shoplifting goes unpunished. Labour is battering business. It can't continue," she said.

"That's why Conservatives will scrap business rates for key high street businesses and take a zero-tolerance approach to shoplifting.

"We are the only party that is on the side of the people who work hard and want to build their communities. We are the only party with a serious and deliverable plan to deliver stronger high streets for our country."

New figures from the Office of National Statistics this week revealed that shoplifting has risen by 13% in the past year alone.

Under the plans to crack down on crime, officers will implement hot-spot policing and triple stop and search.

The party's Cheap Power Plan will remove expensive green subsidies from energy bills, lowering the cost of electricity by 20% for consumers, including high street businesses.

The Tories have already vowed to scrap parts of Angela Rayner's unemployment Bill, including the Strikers Charter and Day One Rights, which make it impossible for employers to drop underperforming staff.

Earlier this month, the party announced plans to change the way small businesses have to deal with the Government and slashing red tape.

Mrs Badenoch, who visited Farnham high street on Friday, hopes the measures will help restore a "sense of pride and community" to towns and cities across Britain.

The announcement piles more pressure on the Chancellor ahead of next month's crunch Budget.

She is desperate to find around £30 billion in tax hikes to fill her latest fiscal black hole.

Retail bosses have warned that plans for another tax raid risks gutting Britain's high streets.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC), which represents 200 major retailers, said many familiar brands may have to shut shops if Ms Reeves pushes ahead with plans to charge larger stores higher business rates.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned that the future of our high streets depends on their ability to adapt.

In a recent report it said: "Our much-loved high streets have long been part of the cultural fabric of the UK.

"They are not just a vital part of our local economy and a major source of employment, but are at the heart of our communities; places where we meet, socialise, shop and build relationships.

"They have seen dramatic change over the decades, with the growth of chain stores, the introduction of out-of-town retail and supermarkets and the arrival of the internet all making their mark.

"We need to look to the future, making sure self-sustaining high streets remain resilient and adaptable, supporting a thriving community of small businesses and remaining a source of pride and positivity in our communities."

A Labour Party spokesperson said: "After 14 years of Conservative failure that saw high streets across Britain decline, the Tories now want to spend £47 billion of money they haven't got on tax cuts they can't afford. They are lying to business owners. They've never apologised for the mess they made, and you can't trust them now.

"This Labour Government's £5 billion Pride in Place programme is a historic investment that puts local people across 339 neighbourhoods in the driving seat of national renewal. Local people will decide how this money is spent to revive their high streets with new powers to seize boarded-up shops, block nuisance businesses, and buy beloved local assets before they close - restoring pride and unity to every corner of the country.

"We are also creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century."