Angela Rayner takes purpose at Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves over ‘punishing’ enterprise charges as she calls for extra assist for Britain’s ‘decaying’ excessive streets… whereas she heaps reward on Andy Burnham

Angela Rayner today took aim at the Prime Minister and Chancellor over ‘punishing’ business rates as she demanded more help for Britain’s ‘decaying’ high streets.

The former deputy prime minister, who was forced to quit the Government last year amid a tax row, called for greater support for the hospitality and nightlife sector.

Ms Rayner urged Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves to ‘put rocket boosters’ under their efforts to deliver on Labour’s general election promises.

Before winning power, the PM and Chancellor pledged to ‘kickstart’ the UK economy, but have so far failed to achieve little more than sluggish growth.

Sir Keir has endured his worst week in office so far after Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar demanded he resign in the wake of the Peter Mandelson scandal.

Ms Rayner is viewed as a leading candidate to replace the PM if he does go, although she publicly pledged her support to Sir Keir followng Mr Sarwar’s intervention. 

Speaking at a night time economy summit in Liverpool on Thursday, Ms Rayner said the Government must listen to the struggling sector.

In an apparent swipe at Ms Reeves’ handling of the economy, she warned many firms are facing ‘punishingly high’ business rates at the same time as their other costs are soaring.

She suggested venues are having to try and cope with a ‘triple whammy’ of costs with business rates, VAT and a minimum wage increase, on top of other pressures. 

Ms Rayner demanded Sir Keir appoint a ‘night-time economy’ minister and heaped praise on Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham – also seen as a possible replacement for Sir Keir – for his efforts in introducing greater night-time transport in his region.

The Tories said Ms Rayner had ‘finally recognised the cumulative impact this Government’s anti-business policies’.

But they added her words would ‘ring hollow’ given she was the architect of Labour’s ‘job-destroying’ workers’ rights legislation.

In her keynote speech at the summit, Ms Rayner said the night-time economy had ‘endured years of handship’ with firms ‘already under pressure’ before the Covid pandemic.

‘Over the past few weeks, I’ve spoken candidly with businesses in my own constituency and many beyond it,’ she added.

‘They say it’s a huge challenge that they’re facing and that it’s a challenge just to stay afloat.

‘Customers just aren’t there in the same way as they used to be as business rates remain punishingly high, energy bills soar, and costs in supply chains and VAT bites.

‘Across Europe, governments recognise that hospitality and nightlife required extended support – not handouts but as investments.

‘Now the Government needs to plan to aid recovery, to stabilise the costs, to give businesses breathing space.

‘I believe the Government should look at how to support the night economy to thrive once again more seriously.’

In a stark message to her former colleagues in Government, the ex-deputy PM added: ‘We need to do better. We need to recognise the value of this industry, economically, culturally, socially.

‘We need to design policy with the industry and not for it.’

Taking questions after her address, Ms Rayner outlined the challenges facing the hospitality and nightlife sector.

These included ‘challenges’ on business rates, VAT, rising minimum wage rates, and increasing energy costs, she added.

Amid dire warnings from the sector of mass closures and job losses from changes made at her Budget in November, Ms Reeves last month announced that pubs and live music venues would benefit from 15 per cent off their business rates bills from April.

But other hospitality businesses such as hotels, restaurants and cafes received no additional support, despite their own concerns over soaring tax bills.

Urging greater Government help for the sector, Ms Rayner said: ‘We’ve talked about a review of business rates, we’ve got to… put rocket boosters under what we promised at the election and start delivering.

‘We’ve only had a short time in Government but I really believe that in order to get that hearing, people have to see the urgency of which the sector is facing.

‘And that means doing pragmatic things that are going to relieve those pressures, as well as having the people in the room – they know the challenges, they also know the context to the challenges and, therefore, they can help us with that.

‘But I also think our high streets will only be saved by looking at the hospitality sector as well.

‘People see the high street and it’s decaying. And actually it’s the hospitality sector and the night-time economy that is really breathing life back into our communities and our high streets.

‘So we’ve really got to try and think of how policies can drive that and how we can practically assist.’

Reflecting on her own time in Government, Ms Rayner – the former housing, communities and local government secretary – lamented the country’s ‘soul-destroying’ planning system.

She also admitted her frustrations at Whitehall departments often working at cross purposes.

‘All departments will do things and they don’t always necessarily understand how one department says ‘we’re going to do this’ and how that has a double impact as another department says they’re going to do something else,’ she said.

Ms Rayner praised London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan for his plans to take a London-wide approach to licensing for night-time venues.

She argued that firms need a ‘more permissive approach to licensing’.

Senior Tory MP Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, said: ‘Today Angela Rayner has finally recognised the cumulative impact this Government’s anti-business policies have had on the economy.

‘But these words ring hollow given she was the principal architect of the job-destroying (Un)Employment Rights Bill.

‘Only the Conservatives have the team, the plan and the leadership to reverse the job-destroying elements of the Employment Rights Bill and get Britain working again.’

Mr Burnham and Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Liverpool City Region also spoke at the event on Thursday to outline the importance of the nighttime economy.

Mr Burnham said: ‘This sector brings the gold dust. It brings the visitors, it brings everything.

‘If we didn’t have what we’ve got, and lucky to have, then our city regions would be nowhere near where we want them to be.’

At the end of the session, Mr Burnham – who recently saw his bid to return to Westminster via the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election blocked by Sir Keir and his allies – joked about his fellow mayor and co-author, Mr Rotheram.

He said: ‘We did write a book together, if you didn’t know, called Head North, all about when we left Westminster.

‘And I just need to say to you today, the sequel, Head South, is currently on hold. But who knows. It might be available at some point in the future.’