Letter to the Business Secretary regarding the closure of Wilko

The Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP
Secretary of State for Business and Trade
Department for Business and Trade
Old Admiralty Building
Admiralty Place
SW1A 2DY

Tuesday 29^th August 2023

Dear Secretary of State,

Following the news last week that hundreds of Wilko stores are likely to close, including the store serving my own community of Crawley, I am writing to you to express my concern and to ask what—if any—action the Government intends to take to help save the high street.

The Crawley branch of Wilko opened its doors in 2012, helping to regenerate a section of our town centre, and since that time has it provided steady employment for dozens of local residents. During a cost-of-living crisis, the last thing communities need is the closure of budget stores and further job losses.

It is government action over the next few weeks which will determine how this announcement will affect towns up and down the country, so as the Secretary of State responsible for Business and Trade, I am writing to ask you the following urgent questions:

• What steps will you now take to ensure that the tens of thousands of Wilko staff, who could now be facing redundancy, will be supported into new employment?
• What are the government doing to ensure that proper, meaningful consultation is conducted by employers and administrators and that they are prevented from exploiting loopholes that allow for workers to be laid off without having complied with the full 45-day period as clearly stated under law?
• There is still the possibility that some stores may be bought, either as part of a package or individually. What options has the government considered to support the sale of Wilko stores and protect as many jobs as possible?

It is clear that despite various proposals over the years, the repeated failures of government economic policy and a lack of any clear vision for our high streets means that we likely face the loss of further large chain stores over the coming months. I would urge your department to act now to develop the plans necessary to avoid further closures.

The Labour Party has a plan to address the issues holding high street businesses back: scrapping and replacing the current system of business rates to level the field with online retailers; cracking down on anti-social behaviour; and giving councils the powers to fill empty premises. There is no need for us to wait until after the General Election for government action, a viable plan to protect the high street already exists, I urge you to act upon it now.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Lamb
Labour candidate for Crawley