Lee Pitcher

That is 100% the kind of change that a Labour Government make to our high streets. In Bawtry, our traders have been flying the flag for our area at No. 11, engaging directly with the Chancellor on how small firms power local growth. That connection matters because it is about national decisions that are grounded in the reality of our market towns. Where else can you visit the China Rose for an amazing Chinese banquet at a 40-year-young family-run business while listening to a little bit of Dolly Parton? But if you do visit, check out the website first, because the restaurant is not only open 9 to 5! At the Crown Hotel, you can have a coffee on a Sunday next to a saxophonist—that is not easy to say after a few beers, so stick to the coffee! And in Hatfield, independents like Kayna’s, 4 On The High Street and Ju Belle show what local enterprise can achieve. Committed owners and real community spirit are keeping our high streets vibrant and resilient, and it is not just businesses but committed local volunteers who are making their communities better places to live—people like Leah Richmond in Lindholme, who has led a scheme to turn a traditional phone box into a mini library on the high street. This Labour Government are matching that local energy with national action. We will invest £20 million in Rossington through the pride in place programme, allowing the neighbourhood to take charge of regeneration, reviving the high street and renewing our parks and public spaces. In Moorends, we have put levelling-up funding secured by my right hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster North (Ed Miliband) and myself to good use, turning plans into projects that people can see and use, improving facilities for sport, families and community groups, and helping to unlock pride and opportunity. Part of that comes through investment in shop frontage areas to ensure that the environment is as wonderful and welcoming outside as the shops are inside—shops like Chris Huby Butchers, where I often go to buy mum her corned beef and spam of a weekend. We will give our communities new powers to buy back beloved assets, use compulsory purchase to tackle long-term shop vacancy, and block the clustering of unwanted outlets where they undermine the character and safety of the high street. For large, empty sites, those powers will help to bring forward new health facilities and housing where appropriate. We are also backing businesses by cutting red tape by 25%, freeing up time and money for owners to grow. I pay tribute to the shopkeepers, market traders and small business owners across Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme. Let me finish by extending an invite: come and visit the high streets in my constituency—spend your money in our shops, enjoy yourself, and delight in everything that Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme has to offer.