Taking the full English breakfast from the high street will not go unpunished, warns Shropshire MP
A West Midland MP accused the Government of 'taking the full English breakfast from the high street' in a debate on the future of town centres.
Mark Pritchard, MP for The Wrekin, highlighted the plight of cafes during a parliamentary debate on the health of the high street.
Mr Pritchard said cafes, including small cafes, played an important role in bringing people into towns, cities and villages.
But he said rising food prices, coupled with rising taxes, were making many of these businesses unsustainable.
"Under this Government, mushrooms are up, bacon is up, eggs are up, sausages are up, bread is up, tea is up and milk is up," he sdiad.
"Therein is a threat to the full English breakfast. This Government might be forgiven for many things, but taking away the full English breakfast from the high street is not one of them."
Earlier in the opposition day debate, Mr Pritchard had challenged minister Miatta Fahnbulleh about rising taxes on business, saying the pressures were pushing many small enterprises to the brink .
"I know that, as a London MP, the minister spends a lot of time reading the Shropshire Star, so I am sure she will be aware of its recent report that, year on year, there has been a 15.5 per cent increase in businesses in severe distress," he said.
"Across the West Midlands, year on year, the figure is 11.9 per cent. Does the minister not finally get that raising taxes does not grow the economy?"
Miss Fahnbulleh, under-secretary of state in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, said she was well aware that many businesses were finding life difficult.
"We absolutely understand the pressure that businesses are under, but that pressure did not happen overnight," she said.
"It is the consequence of 14 years in which we have not seen productivity growth and 14 years in which the economy has not grown. We understand the economic reality and we are taking action to respond to it, but, candidly, it is pretty disingenuous for the Conservatives to pretend that the foundations that they left for the economy were not absolutely corrosive and decimated. That is the inheritance that we are building on."
After the debate, Mr Pritchard accused ministers of not understanding the problem.
"Increasing taxes does not increase growth," he said.
"It does not help that not a single Labour cabinet minister has ever run a business. This government is creating national anxiety in every home and every business."
Mr Pritchard said almost every sector on the high street was suffering.
"From hairdressers, toy shops. estate agents and cafes, Labour's tax attack on Shropshire's high streets are causing job losses and shop closures, including small cafes which can act as real community hubs and meeting points."
