Liz McInnes deeply regrets demise of BHS

Liz McInnes, MP for Heywood and Middleton

Liz McInnes, Labour Member of Parliament for Heywood and Middleton and Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government, with responsibility for high streets and town centres, was deeply saddened by the announcement on Monday (25 April) of the demise of BHS.

Ms McInnes said: “I am shocked and saddened to hear that a great stalwart of our high streets could potentially close if a buyer can’t be found – the store has been part of Britain’s high streets for 88 years and holds a special niche for many of Britain’s shoppers.

“BHS employs 11,000 people and my thoughts are with the thousands of workers who face a very uncertain future. It’s devastating news for the employees of BHS and I urge the company to begin a dialogue with the unions at this difficult and worrying time for the workforce.”

“I’m afraid it’s another sad example of what’s happening to our high streets and town centres. Britain’s high streets are struggling - almost 5,000 jobs and shops were lost in Britain last year as a result of retailers falling into administration. 5,839 shops closed in 2014 – that’s 16 a day and one in 10 shops are empty.

“The Government needs to do so much more to support our high streets. The raft of piecemeal initiatives introduced by the government have failed to deliver the improvement needed for hard pressed high streets and for shops under threat. Powers needed by local authorities and local communities to shape their high streets and town centres to reflect local needs are being eroded.

“The Government should act to support our high streets and our great national stores like BHS. The loss of jobs is horrendous for the people involved and their families and is a further blow for Britain’s town centres.”