Westminster North resident explains support for local shops and high streets campaign

1.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 30th Apr 2010

Mark Blackburn, parliamentary candidate for Westminster North.

A Gloucester Terrace resident in Westminster North, who asked to remain anonymous, recently contacted the local Liberal Democrats to endorse their campaign to support local shops. The resident said:

"Local shops play a valuable part in our communities. They give them identity and character, and mean that you will bump into people that you know and can have a chat, and the shopkeeper will always know your face if not actually your name. They are a lifeline for elderly people, and a godsend when you need something in a hurry and don't have time for a journey to the superstore."

"Everyone knows that the Tories cost the poor and reward the rich, not just in personal terms but also when it comes to businesses. These policies means that the largest, most profitable ones do very well out of a Tory government whilst smaller traders and independent shops struggle to survive ever-rising rents and competition from the out of town retail parks."

"Years of a political system which supports the rich corporate chains have destroyed the individuality of the high street, and pushed out the independent businesses. Wherever you go now there are the same shops, with the same things in them; identical high streets and malls, from one end of the country to the other. The small businessman inevitably has local support, but he is powerless against the steamroller of the ubiquitous chain giants. It is no longer a delight to visit other British towns to browse and shop because they are all the same!"

"Heritage buildings are bulldozed to make way for glass and steel malls and historic frontage ripped out to be replaced with the uniform plastic facade of the outlet in question. This retail rat race was ironically aided by the free enterprise policies of a famous small grocer's daughter. It has cost us our communities and our sense of place, eroded our identities and sense of belonging. The corresponding drain on domestic tourism is inevitable. We have to go further afield to find any place that is fresh and different."

"This costs the UK economy. Did the grocer's daughter realise what she had started? Did she have any idea how much this would contribute to our national debt? So many of our shops are owned by foreign companies, and so the profits go abroad rather than being invested and recirculated locally."

"In West London we now have the gargantuan Westfield Shopping Centre. This new sprawl of consumerist indulgence draws customers from all the areas around the Hammersmith and City Line and the western end of the Central line. Local shops are suffering. Westbourne Grove and Notting Hill recently enjoyed a great economic revival and we residents felt priviliged to be already living here. Things may not be so good for that much longer however, as in the wake of the prosperity of the area comes the marching boots of the giant chains stamping out our local shops."

"Who now is going to look after the local business and protect the heart of the community? Not the Tories for sure. Free enterprise and survival of the fittest is all well and good but only when the game is on an equal level. The smaller enterprise cannot compete with the big boys and many long established shops have been lost. It is a David and Goliath situation, and our humanity and instinct to protect the vulnerable must not be forgotten or overshadowed by our awe of the magnitude of the invading retailer."

"The English tea shop has been squeezed out by Starbucks and McDonalds. From Big Macs to Skinny Frappuccino Latte! Beer used to be beer and lager used to be lager, but now lager is "beer", and many of the traditional London breweries have had to close. The Tory campaign bus should be stocked with Bombadier Ale or something which celebrates our nation and promotes and supports our brewing industry, but instead the Tory bus is filled with crates of Peroni - the most Italian of "beers" (technically lager). A sloppy PR fail. So now I don't trust that the Tories have our country at heart, let alone our communities."

"Mark Blackburn is the Lib Dem Candidate for Westminster North. He has been a retailer himself. He understands the community and the issue like no one else. If we want to keep our community together, and protect our identity, if we want to keep our money circulating locally rather than give it away to overseas corporations, we need help. On May 6th you can vote for who will best represent the local interest. I will be voting Liberal Democrat for the first time. I will be voting for Mark Blackburn."