Doom loop of decline: how struggling high streets fuel far-right sympathies in UK

Retail accounts for 5% of the UK economy - but its visibility gives it an outsize influence on public perception

Up and down Britain there are boarded-up shops. Banks and department stores have been replaced by vape shops, barbers and bookmakers. Shoplifting is at a record high, local services cut, and public frustration is mounting.

Politically, high street decline is perfect campaign fodder for Nigel Farage's Reform UK.