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

in walsall, a west midlands town, voters say their high street is "not like it used to be." debbie tapper, a lifelong resident, remembers a bustling market that stretched the length of the high street. now she sees shuttered shops, barbers, vape stores, and bookmakers. luke tryl of more in common says signs of neglect on the high street are seen as symptoms of wider decline, chipping away at how people feel about their local area. shoppers sharday hodges and carmel yates point to high rents, parking charges, and a lack of jobs. a £1.5bn regeneration project is planned for walsall, but solutions aren't coming fast enough. centre for cities found one in 12 high street units empty in london and cambridge, compared to nearly one in five in bradford. communities secretary steve reed says fixing high streets is critical to showing people "politics is back on their side." the government has announced a £301m funding pot and a wider £5.8bn "pride in place" scheme. the conservatives pledge to scrap business rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure up to £110,000 a year. reform uk voters report the highest sense of neglect, according to more in common polling from last june.