High Street Businesses: Government Support

Rachel Gilmour Excerpts

Thursday 4th June 2026 Westminster Hall

[Rachel Gilmour (Tiverton and Minehead) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to see you in the chair this afternoon. Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Didcot and Wantage (Olly Glover) for giving us the opportunity to speak in this debate on the importance of high street businesses.

It was once said by American President Calvin Coolidge that the chief business of the nation is business, but high street businesses in Tiverton and Minehead tell me of how they feel more squeezed than ever before. I must confess that my deepest frustration as an MP is seeing people and enterprises held back stubbornly and unnecessarily by basic challenges, and by Governments who have spoken the language of growth while too often acting against it. The cost of energy has been crippling for high street businesses. I commend the Government on having the antenna to keep out of Washington’s war, but that has not left us insulated from its effects; as alluded to by many, energy prices have soared.

The hikes in national insurance contributions, business rates being at the level they are, and the rise in the minimum wage make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to hire local young people looking for work, who often rely on summer jobs over the school holidays. We see that borne out in the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training, and in the mental health epidemic making victims of so many of our young people.

The high street is as much a place of commerce as it is of human connection, and when that hollows out, so does something vital in the lives of local people. I therefore simply ask this: what happens when the goose is no longer laying the golden eggs, when the tax revenue is no longer there, and when the properties sit empty? This is not sustainable.

I would like to say just a brief word on Europe: the most powerful growth lever available to this Government requires no new spending, no new legislation and no great political imagination; it is to ease the red tape choking trade with Europe. My constituents, including my farmers, tell me—in language rather more colourful than parliamentary convention permits—about the bureaucratic absurdities they have to navigate just to trade with our nearest neighbours.

In Tiverton and Minehead, threadbare transport is a choke on high street trade. For a significant portion of my constituents who do not have access to a car—and I have one of the poorest constituencies in the country, even though it is beautiful—public transport provision is so painfully limited that employment opportunities just a few miles away might as well be on another planet. That is a structural drag on our local rural economy.

It is also true that a local economy is only ever as strong as the talent feeding it. The skills gap that employers in my constituency raise with me begins here; backing business has to mean investing in the pipeline that feeds it. Without that, we get a brain drain away from rural areas. While that is far from a new phenomenon, it is a cumulative one, and my local rural economy bears the cost: businesses lose potential employees and communities lose the purchasing power and energy of young professionals, who might, with the right provision, have chosen to stay and build their lives in their community—the most beautiful constituency in the United Kingdom.

Seasonal Hospitality Businesses in Coastal Areas

Rachel Gilmour Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd June 2026 Westminster Hall

[Rachel Gilmour (Tiverton and Minehead) (LD)]

It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stuart. I represent Exmoor, the northern edge of which runs along west Somerset to the coast. There, the visitor economy supports about two thirds of all employment: there are 8.4 million visitor days a year and economic activity of upwards of £700 million. However, my constituent Cathy Britton, who runs Eduardo’s pizzeria and café in Porlock, tells me that her turnover is down by 50% from last year. Rising business costs and falling footfall have left her feeling squeezed. Napoleon called England a “nation of shopkeepers”—disparagingly, as it happens. But Cathy says that European visitors, who frequently come to walk in the steps of Ada Lovelace along the South West Coast Path, are bemused by how quiet the high street is and by how few shops are open.

The ripple effects of dwindling visitor numbers are felt beyond the seafront, too. My friend Paul Hardy, an antique dealer in Dulverton—some 10 miles away from the coast—tells me that business is down 70% on last year. He relies significantly on passing custom from the tourist trail: visitors who come for the coast and the moor, and who spend along the way. He now fears the additional impact of an overnight visitor levy, a measure that risks compressing the season on which businesses such as his depend. It is worth making the obvious point that coastal seasonal hospitality is not a self-contained economy; it is the engine that drives commercial activity across a much wider hinterland.

No economy functions without movement, and in west Somerset, movement is precisely what is missing. Take the B3191 at Cleeve Hill between Watchet and Blue Anchor, which has now been closed for two years. Both towns are coastal, with some 6,000 people and over 100 businesses. They are effectively dependent on a single vehicular route. Should that remaining route fail, the towns could be cut off entirely, with access gone—and with it, the tourism trade on which that coastal economy depends. I ask the Government directly: will they draw on the Department for Transport structures fund, a £1 billion pot established precisely for situations such as this one, to fix it?

Butlin’s in Minehead is a major employer for my constituents. It hosts some 6,000 holidaymakers a week during the peak season. But west Somerset is in many respects a cul-de-sac—difficult to reach and navigate after arrival. That is bad for visitors, and for the businesses and workers who depend on that footfall. Supporting seasonal hospitality in coastal areas is a question of business rates, business rates relief and tourism, but it is also a matter of sustained investment in our roads, bus routes and rail connections—the transport infrastructure that makes these coastal places accessible in the first place.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

Backing Business to Create Economic Growth

Rachel Gilmour Excerpts

Monday 18th May 2026 Commons Chamber

[Helen Morgan]

I agree entirely. I question the perception that people’s objection to masts is holding us back. In Shropshire, passive infrastructure masts have planning permission and are ready to go; what cannot be achieved is a mobile phone operator willing to put its equipment on those masts. We need to work with mobile network operators to get the connectivity we need.

I will move on to public transport. Shropshire has lost 63% of its bus miles since 2015, compared with 19% on average across England. Places like Woore, a village of around 1,000 people in my constituency, have no bus service at all; others, like Trefonen, have one bus a day. Weston Rhyn residents do have a bus service, but at the moment it just does not turn up because of a road diversion. This is really holding people back.

[Rachel Gilmour (Tiverton and Minehead) (LD)]

Like me, my hon. Friend represents a very rural constituency, albeit not quite as beautiful as Tiverton and Minehead. I completely concur with her points about rural transport: it is an absolute blocker for economic development, education and so many other things. Does she agree that growth is not conjured by debate but built by political will? My constituents and businesses need a functioning road from Watchet to Blue Anchor, a rebuilt school in Tiverton and a Government who foster the conditions for enterprise to flourish. To date, the political will has been lacking.

[Helen Morgan]

I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention; it speaks to the point that rural areas have been looked past by the current Government and the previous Government. They have been neglected for many, many years, and if we are to unleash the potential of those rural areas, we need the political will to invest in them.

Shropshire has lost more bus service miles than pretty much anywhere else in the country, but in the funding round in early 2025, Shropshire had the 53rd lowest of 73 allocations, despite being one of the worst-served counties in the country. Local businesses and the local jobcentre tell me that not being able to get staff to their businesses is the biggest problem they face. They struggle to recruit skilled labour and to get people to them because there is very poor public transport. If a person in Shropshire cannot afford to run a car, they are pretty much stranded where they are. If that person is a young person looking for their first job or looking to learn the skills needed to work, they will probably struggle to get work because of the lack of public transport.

Trains are a real problem too. Accessibility at Whitchurch station has been overlooked, as has the connection between Oswestry and Gobowen. Those trains could be transformational for our area.

I welcome the Government’s review of in-person banking services that was announced last week. There is only one town with a bank in my constituency. We need to ensure that everybody can access the services they need. A business owner should not be required to drive many miles simply to change a signatory. I have had a lot of feedback from businesses in my constituency saying that banking services are critical.

Council funding is really important, and councils are critical for economic development. Shropshire does not have Pride in Place funding. It has lost the local growth funding, and it has not been given shared prosperity funding now that it has been phased out. That really impacts our ability to attract people into tourism and to regenerate the area. I would also say that education funding is part of that picture, because skills are essential. In areas where there are low outcomes for children, having very low input into their schools is problematic.

Finally, I want to talk about farming. The family farm tax has held back over 1,068 farms in Shropshire. Milk prices are a real problem. Many of our dairy farmers are producing at lower than cost, and fertiliser and diesel prices are soaring because of the war in Iran, causing a huge crisis of confidence in the farming industry. I look forward to hearing how the Government are going to generate confidence in our farming industry so that our rural economies can thrive.

Postal Services: Rural Areas

Rachel Gilmour Excerpts

Wednesday 4th February 2026 Westminster Hall

[Sarah Olney (Richmond Park) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. I thank the hon. Member for South Shropshire (Stuart Anderson) for securing the debate and for his excellent opening speech, which highlighted so many of the everyday frustrations and difficulties experienced by people who are not getting their post. I thank all hon. Members who have shared examples of their own.

[Rachel Gilmour (Tiverton and Minehead) (LD)]

I am very proud to represent some fantastic small businesses in my rural constituency. Mr Barclay, the owner of CardByMeLove in Tiverton, has been left to shoulder an administrative burden that is not of his own making, chasing missing parcels and placating disgruntled customers. To make matters worse, he has faced an unresponsive Royal Mail. Does my hon. Friend agree that such instances of abject failure actively undermine the ability of small businesses to operate, and cause serious reputational damage in already trying circumstances?

[Sarah Olney]

My hon. Friend is right. We have talked a lot today about the implications for individuals and I particularly want to highlight the example from my hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (John Milne). That was really appalling and I send my best wishes to his constituent who suffered that unacceptable incident. My hon. Friend the Member for Tiverton and Minehead (Rachel Gilmour) is absolutely right to point out the impact on businesses, too.

Post offices across the UK play a vital role in our local communities, with millions of people depending on them. They provide critical services on our local high streets, such as community banking, foreign exchange and the provision of DVLA services. Often those services act as a lifeline, especially for the elderly, as we have heard so many times today, and for those with limited transport options or in areas without reliable access to online services.

Currently, 99.7% of the population live within three miles of a post office and 4,000 branches are open seven days a week. Last July, the Government launched their consultation on the future of the Post Office and the Liberal Democrats welcome the steps to put post offices on a more sustainable footing. However, it is essential that the reforms protect local services and post office jobs and that no post office is closed without proper consultation with the local community.

Digitisation can improve access for some users and increase efficiency, but the Government must ensure that post offices remain financially viable and continue to offer face-to-face services for those who need them, particularly in rural areas with limited broadband or internet access, as my hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan) pointed out. Rural communities face compounded challenges, including poor digital connectivity, cuts to public transport and the loss of local services, all of which make access to alternatives more difficult when post offices or banks close.

The decline of high street services in rural areas has been an ongoing issue in the UK, with banks and other essential services disappearing at an increasing rate. Just last week, Santander announced the closure of 44 of its branches. That has significant consequences for residents, particularly older people, those with limited digital access, and small businesses. That pattern places increased importance on the role of a local post office. In the past three years, nearly 2,000 bank branches have closed across the UK, including hundreds of rural branches, due to declining in-person transactions and the rise of online banking. Many villages and small towns now lack a single bank, forcing residents to travel long distances for financial services. Those challenges are often compounded by limited broadband or access to the internet, leading to swathes of people in rural communities being excluded from online services and digital banking.

The Liberal Democrats are concerned about the inequality of provision as the 5G network is rolled out. We believe it is wrong that people should be disadvantaged simply because of where they live. I urge the Government to prioritise major investment in broadband for underserved communities. Alternative solutions, such as banking hubs, are emerging, but there are not enough of them; the Government should facilitate more to ensure that people across the country can access vital services when they need them and to prevent digital exclusion for people in rural areas.

Royal Mail provides the universal postal service: it must deliver letters to every address in the UK six days a week at a uniform price and deliver parcels five days a week. Royal Mail’s performance is measured against quality-of-service targets, which are set out by Ofcom. The vast majority of those targets are not being achieved; in 2024-25 Royal Mail delivered only 76.5% of first-class mail within one working day of collection against a target of 93%. It also missed its target for second-class mail to be delivered within three working days of collection, as well as its targets for daily delivery routes. Last July, Ofcom announced that Royal Mail will start to deliver second-class letters on every other weekday and not on Saturdays to help cut costs. That is a deeply worrying decision and it could leave countless people who rely on those deliveries in the lurch. People need to know that their post will arrive on time so that they can go about their lives; the move flies right in the face of that.

The sorry saga of Royal Mail delays has been going on for far too long, despite the tireless work of staff members. I wish to add my comments to those of other hon. Members about the excellent work that posties do. I was privileged to visit Mortlake and Barnes delivery office just before Christmas. Its staff work incredibly hard, and I am happy to say that they are doing really well on their targets, but that is obviously not the case across the country, so more need to be done. People are rightly disappointed with the service provided. Instead of giving Royal Mail a free pass, Ofcom needs to step in and act by fully holding this failing service to account. Ofcom needs to think again and not let Royal Mail off the hook at the expense of people who expect, as a bare minimum, for their post to arrive on time.

For many rural communities, the pattern of the closure of services has been compounded by rural public transport being cut, making it even harder for residents to reach alternative services. Bus route reductions leave some villages with little to no public transport, worsening isolation. Bus services are the backbone of economic activity in communities across our country, and they are particularly crucial in rural areas, where accessibility is an issue and local amenities and services are greater distances apart. If the Government are serious about growth, they will invest in services that will boost our struggling town centres and high streets. The increase in the fare cap to £3 is a bus tax that will hit working people, rural communities and people on low incomes the most.

Rural areas of the UK face a distinct set of challenges compared with their urban counterparts. Although Government support exists through various grants, loans and initiatives, several issues, including infrastructure challenges, the phasing out of EU funding and higher costs related to transport, energy and supply chains can disadvantage rural businesses more severely.

I thank the hon. Member for South Shropshire for securing this debate. I look forward to hearing what steps the Minister is taking to ensure that communities in rural areas will be able to benefit from the vital service that post offices provide.

Specialist Manufacturing Sector: Regional Economies

Rachel Gilmour Excerpts

Wednesday 19th November 2025 Westminster Hall

[Gareth Snell]

I am many things, but I have never been called an ideologue. We can have a debate about the Employment Rights Bill on a different occasion, but I suggest that securing the right for people to know what hours they are working does not seem to me like a minimum ask for anybody.

I am glad that my hon. Friend the Member for Calder Valley raised the importance of manufacturing to pride in place. He rightly talked about the valves made in Calder Valley, and he will know that I and my colleagues from north Staffordshire talk quite a lot in this place about ceramics and pottery—I cannot imagine your disbelief, Mrs Harris, but it is true. We talk about that because we are proud of the things that we make. We are proud to know that the tableware in our dining rooms was made by Duchess in Stoke-on-Trent, and the gifts in the Lords gift shop were made by Halcyon Days in Stoke-on-Trent. There are Wedgwood plates, Spode mugs and Burleigh prints all around this building that were made in Stoke-on-Trent.

It is not just Stoke-on-Trent that has a unique commitment and an integral identity connection to manufacturing. Think about the cutlery manufacturers of Sheffield, the jewellery quarter in Birmingham, the shoe manufacturers of Northampton, the knitwear and textiles in Scotland and, of course, the shipyards of Barrow and Belfast—clear commitments to industry that have helped to shape people’s identity. That is why we have to think about what regional investment means. We are proud of the things we make: they contribute to our local economy, which therefore contributes to the national economy. The supply chains need to stretch right across the whole United Kingdom because, as the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) says, this is about the nations and regions of this country coming together to do what we all do best in our localities for the greater good of the nation.

In Stoke-on-Trent we do not just make tableware, giftware and ceramics; it is also proudly home to a factory that makes all the cherry bakewells in this country. I did not know she was here this morning, but one of our guests in the Public Gallery works in that factory. The workers there are proud of what they do and their creation of pastry, frangipane, icing and hand-placed cherries.

[Rachel Gilmour (Tiverton and Minehead) (LD)]

Did the hon. Gentleman bring any with him?

--- Later in debate ---

[Rachel Gilmour (Tiverton and Minehead) (LD)]

I thank the hon. Member for Calder Valley (Josh Fenton-Glynn) for securing the debate, and not least for mentioning one of the many shocking things about Hinkley C in my constituency.

My Tiverton and Minehead constituency is home to some truly remarkable specialist manufacturers whose contributions extend far beyond our borders and into the global economy. I have chosen to confine my speech to just three examples—so apologies to HepcoMotion, Rotolok and others.

Heathcoat Fabrics is a shining example. Founded by John Heathcoat, it has a storied past. After the factory in the midlands was destroyed by the Luddites, Heathcoat led his workforce to the south-west and established a major lace-making enterprise in Tiverton in 1816. Ahead of his time and a thoroughly righteous man, not only did he build a thriving business, but he invested in the welfare of his workers, building a series of cottages for them. The homes are, of course, still standing, and are well lived in by Tivertonians today.

The company carried forward Heathcoat’s vision and ethos of worker welfare, providing pensions to employees before Lloyd George’s Old Age Pensions Act 1908. Today, Heathcoat Fabrics designs specialist fabrics that are trusted by NASA for its space missions. I say that again: trusted by NASA. Enough said—wow. It is quite the distinction, and a testament to Heathcoat Fabrics’ world-class innovation.

Impressive, too, is Shearwell Data, a family-run business based in Wheddon Cross, Somerset. Under the leadership of director Richard Webber, Shearwell has become a global leader in livestock-monitoring systems. Its technology supports farmers worldwide and is backed by advanced data storage and a remote support network that stretches across continents. Agriculture is a way of life in our part of the world, and Shearwell’s success puts Somerset firmly on the map in conversations about agricultural innovation.

I also want to mention Singer Instruments, which is based in Roadwater, in Watchet. Its precision instrumentation accelerates scientific discovery, supporting and supplying labs in more than 60 countries and in every corner of the globe. It is a source of great local pride to know that such cutting-edge science is powered by a company rooted in the constituency.

Although it is not in my constituency—it is just over the border—it would be remiss of me not to mention Agratas, Tata’s global battery arm, which is building the UK’s largest electric vehicle battery factory. Once fully operational, it is projected to generate more than £700 million annually for the south-west economy, and will be a significant employer, with around 4,000 people across the full site—opportunities for talented constituents of mine.

All those enterprises form the backbone of a flourishing hub of specialist manufacturing. They demonstrate how innovation, resilience and a healthy dose of ambition can drive prosperity for our communities and contribute to the wider south-west regional economy.

Employment Rights Bill

Rachel Gilmour Excerpts

Consideration of Lords message
Wednesday 5th November 2025 Commons Chamber

I would be very happy to be intervened on if there are any real business groups—not the Institute for Public Policy Research or the TUC, but real business groups—that the Minister or anyone else would like to cite in defence of this Bill and that supports it in its current form. I am all ears, because that is not true of the Federation of Small Businesses, the British Chambers of Commerce, the Confederation of British Industry, Make UK, the Institute of Directors, UKHospitality, the British Retail Consortium and so many more.

[Rachel Gilmour (Tiverton and Minehead) (LD)]

The answer to that question is the Chartered Management Institute.

[Andrew Griffith]

Well, I am glad we have found one; I have not had any representations from it.

Businesses in Rural Areas

Rachel Gilmour Excerpts

Wednesday 18th June 2025 Westminster Hall

[Tim Roca (Macclesfield) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Western. I commend the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Steff Aquarone) for securing this important debate.

Rural businesses are a core part of the economy in places such as Macclesfield, which—as you will know, Mr Western—is a beautiful part of the world, on the western edge of the Peak district. Field, farm and forest bring, in equal measure, community and economic activity. Businesses are vital in rural areas, be they the local pub, the farms that feed us or the businesses that support the tourism industry—a critical part of the economy in my area.

[Rachel Gilmour (Tiverton and Minehead) (LD)]

At the end of the high season for tourists, does the hon. Gentleman agree that we should reduce tourism VAT to lower prices and allow businesses to increase investment, particularly in coastal and rural communities such as those in my constituency? That would boost growth in tourist economies. There is such a system in Italy, France and Spain, and it brings much more money in.

[Tim Roca]

I agree that we should be open-minded about such measures, just as I was open-minded about taking interventions—although that may change.

On that point, I want to celebrate the value of the visitor economy, which has been mentioned. It has risen to more than £1 billion in Cheshire East, which means that 10,000 jobs depend on that sector in my area. Many hon. Members have spoken, and no doubt will speak, eloquently about the challenges facing rural businesses, and I will talk briefly about a couple of those challenges too.

First, Macclesfield residents have great difficulty finding transport, so they are reliant on a car to get around. If they want to go to a local pub such as the Rose and Crown in Wincle or the Swan Inn in Kettleshulme, and they do not have a car, they must depend on bus routes that are unreliable, infrequent or simply not there. I welcome the more than £5.5 million in extra funding from the Government for Cheshire East council to improve local bus services, and I hope that we continue with efforts to improve rural transport connectivity and the road network—for those hon. Members were present for my Westminster Hall debate on roadworks in Cheshire, the B4570 remains closed from Macclesfield through Rainow.

Secondly, digital connectivity is incredibly important. In many parts of my constituency, phone signal is impossible to come by. I looked at Ofcom’s network coverage map prior to this debate, and there is limited data and not much voice access over huge chunks of my constituency. That strongly affects businesses, because we all know that internet access is a critical part of the rural economy. I welcome the schemes that are supporting further roll-outs, but more needs to be done.

Thirdly, I am sure that other hon. Members will talk powerfully about the impact of energy costs on rural businesses, and I am keen to hear more about what the Government are doing to ensure that those costs are reduced. The Country Land and Business Association powerfully said in 2024 that the rural economy was 14% less productive than the national average. If we close that gap, £40 billion extra could be added to England’s gross value added.

Our rural economy is critical, as is investment in it. There is a great opportunity for us, and I look forward to hearing from the Minister about the good work that the Government are doing to support that.

Groceries Code Adjudicator

Rachel Gilmour Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd June 2025 Westminster Hall

[Sir John Hayes (South Holland and The Deepings) (Con)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the powers of the Groceries Code Adjudicator.

It is a delight to be here and to speak on this subject, which is of great importance to my constituents, both consumers and producers. A free economy works best when those who buy and those who sell can do so in a multiplicity of places. Nowhere is that more important than in the field of food, for food is the most basic of all commodities; we all, after all, need to eat. That variety prevailed for most of time. Indeed, if one thinks of the earliest civilisations, the way we mark them is by their trading capacity, such as those in the Levant who traded food produced there in markets between 7,000 and 10,000 years ago.

Yet in my lifetime—in all our lifetimes—the provision of food in this country has changed. It was Napoleon who described Britain as a “nation of shopkeepers”. If only that were still true. In my boyhood, my mother could shop at a variety of places to obtain the food products and other household items that she needed. What has happened during my lifetime is that a monopoly supply, or near-monopoly supply, of food provision has emerged, in the form of the great behemoths, the huge supermarkets, the corporate interests that now dominate the provision of food.

That has broken the food chain. Let us be in no doubt about where we are as a nation in respect of the provision and consumption of foodstuffs. The food chain is broken, and Governments of all colours have been reluctant to face that reality. Indeed, there has been a defence of the fact that most people now are obliged—I emphasise that: obliged—to buy their food from a handful of places, with little or no choice as to whether they do so, because, as I said, everyone has to buy and consume food. The defence offered is that it has driven prices down; but I will contest, in this short debate, that that is not really so.

Bulk buying of food, which is now the norm—most people buy their food on a weekly basis; they fill their trolley with any number of goods—does three things. First, it disguises the relationship between cost and value. In the days when people bought as they needed, they had a pretty good idea of what things cost and whether they were providing value for money. When people fill a basket, those details are lost in bulk purchase. That allows supermarkets to produce what they call loss leaders, which are cheaper products that draw people in.

[Rachel Gilmour (Tiverton and Minehead) (LD)]

The Groceries Code Adjudicator is of course vital, but my party and I believe that its remit is too narrow. Does my right hon. Friend agree with me that it is time for a new groceries code regulatory authority, with powers to introduce price floors and ceilings, ensuring fair prices for suppliers and consumers?

[Sir John Hayes]

I am delighted to accept the hon. Lady’s advice on that. She is not, in parliamentary technical terms, my hon. Friend, but she is a friend none the less, and she is right in her assertion, which I shall move to after I entertain the House a little further with my preparation for making exactly that argument. The essence of my call today is that this Government need to take action to deal with the near-monopolistic supply of foodstuffs that our constituents are obliged—I use the word again—to endure. The best way of doing that is through a more regulated market, and she is right to say so; but let me set the scene a little more before I come to the point at which I will call for exactly what she has suggested.

As well as the loss leaders that I mentioned, which have the seductive effect on consumers of encouraging them to buy many other things, secondly, that kind of provision of food has led to a great deal of waste. From studies that have been done, we know that these days much of what people buy—as much as 20%, or perhaps a little more—is never consumed. That would have been unthinkable a couple of generations ago. People would not have believed it was possible to stock the pantry or fridge with all kinds of things that ended up on the scrapheap.

Groceries Code Adjudicator

Rachel Gilmour Excerpts

Tuesday 25th February 2025 Westminster Hall

[David Chadwick (Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe) (LD)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the Groceries Code Adjudicator.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg.

There is a deep unfairness at the heart of our food system. That unfairness stems from the power imbalance between producers and retailers. At one end, the retailers we buy our food from are making huge profits. Last year, the big four supermarkets saw a 97% increase in their profits: Tesco made £2.3 billion, Asda made £1.1 billion and Sainsbury’s made £701 million. That is enough to convince anyone that there is enough money in the till to go around.

As we know, food prices have soared since 2022, yet Welsh farming incomes are actually falling. That is a sign of a food system that generates huge profits for the supermarkets and the big retailers, while the producers at the other end suffer what they must. Farmers and growers carry the risks of food production but do not receive a fair share of the rewards. The people who grow our food deserve to earn a decent living. That is why the Liberal Democrats will keep campaigning to level the metaphorical playing field for farmers.

[Rachel Gilmour (Tiverton and Minehead) (LD)]

The Groceries Code Adjudicator was established by my party, the Liberal Democrats, during that sad time in Government. It was an extremely important achievement designed to protect the interests of farmers and food producers. Some hon. Members will know of my background as a director of the National Farmers Union, and my constituency of Tiverton and Minehead is home to some 1,600 farmers. In recognising that farmers are the lifeblood of the rural economy, would my hon. Friend agree that the GCA’s resources and scope must be expended to ensure it can exercise its investigative powers and correct the imbalance between our farmers and the big supermarket chains?

[David Chadwick]

I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting the achievements of the Liberal Democrats in power, particularly the fact that we have a long record of standing up for rural communities. The physical hills that Welsh farmers have to climb are getting steeper. Energy and fertiliser costs are rising, subsidy schemes are changing and farm incomes are falling. To make matters worse, the Government’s family farm tax threatens to further strain their livelihoods. Those are just a few of the battles that farmers face. Their industry deserves a fair market, and it is for that reason that the Liberal Democrats introduced the Groceries Code Adjudicator during the coalition years.

Closure of High Street Services: Rural Areas

Rachel Gilmour Excerpts

Wednesday 5th February 2025 Westminster Hall

[Rachel Gilmour (Tiverton and Minehead) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Furniss. I congratulate my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone) on securing this debate.

Rural high streets make up the heart of the local communities, and it is vital to draw attention to the difficulties they face. One crucial service run on rural high streets is banking. My area of the country is not blessed with good broadband connectivity, making online banking a difficult task. Many of my constituents were also not born into the digital age, and for them, changing to online and mobile banking can be difficult.

The high streets across my community include some 15 community pharmacies. They are all threatened by the perilous financial state of the health sector. Pharmacies need a better deal from the Government and a real-terms funding uplift, preferably backdated to account for the fall in value that the sector has seen. Without that, we will risk losing those vital services from the high street.

The constituent part of the high street are the businesses that make up the vibrant centre—whether they are the fantastic cafés such as Whelans, where I regularly grab a mid-morning snack in Wiveliscombe when hosting surgeries, or the charity shops where I regularly buy the clothes I showcase on my social media—and it is those businesses and more which engender the spirit of community and truly make up the high street.

If we lose our high streets in rural settings, it will be very hard to get them back. The old market towns and villages across my constituency hold cherished memories. It is not too late, but we need to act fast and with urgency, otherwise rural communities will continue to see those services moving away from their high streets. I hope that this Government are up to the challenge, but I remain to be convinced.