Struggling High Streets fuel sense of neglect for voters ahead of local elections

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Struggling High Streets fuel sense of neglect for voters ahead of local elections 12 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Alex Forsyth Political correspondent On a sunny midweek morning, there are plenty of people strolling or shopping in the centre of the West Midlands town of Walsall - but many of them share a common complaint. "It's not like it used to be. " Debbie Tapper, who's lived around Walsall her whole life, recalls a bustling market that used to stretch the length of the High Street as she gestures sadly to the shops and stalls that remain.

"I am proud to be from Walsall," she says. "But I'm not proud of the way the country is at the moment. " The town faces many of the same challenges that plague High Streets across the country.

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A combination of online shopping, out-of-town retail parks, and wider societal and economic shifts means once-thriving town centres are scattered with shuttered shops, while destination department stores have given way to barbers, vape stores and bookmakers. Beyond the frustration this causes local residents, there's evidence it is fuelling a wider sense of political discontent which could prove crucial in the forthcoming elections for English councils in May. Luke Tryl, UK director of polling company More in Common, says: "It's clear that the public judge their local area and community by the state of the High Street.

Signs of neglect are seen as symptoms of wider decline. " Tryl says it's part of a "wider malaise" that may seem minor or cosmetic, but "chips away" at Britons' perceptions of their local area, making them feel their communities are "neglected or forgotten". In Walsall, it's something shoppers Sharday Hodges and Carmel Yates recognise.

They are proud of the town, but say it's in desperate need of improvement. "It's really run down," Carmel says. "There's a lot of deprivation.

What Experts Say

There's a lack of jobs about, unfortunately, so I think that has a knock-on effect... People haven't got the money to spend. " Sharday points to high rents and parking charges as barriers for businesses and shoppers.

"We used to have such a rich market history and it's such a shame," she says. "You see all the stalls and they're just not here anymore. " There have been efforts to improve High Streets across England, from central government funding to re-imagining the use of town centres with a mix of housing or public services like health centres.

Historic England ran a four-year programme to repurpose derelict and underused buildings as community spaces such as cinemas and market halls, and run cultural events, while in Walsall a £1. 5bn regeneration project is planned . But the solutions to a complex challenge aren't coming quickly enough for many voters.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.