Rachel Reeves has been slammed over her policies (Image: Getty)
Rachel Reeves risks turning Britain into a « black market economy”, an MP has warned. This is despite Labour’s £150million crackdown on “fronts for organised crime” as part of its new strategy for high streets, which officials said would encourage “real local businesses” to replace vape shops and mini marts.
Conservative MP Jack Rankin blasted Labour’s new strategy, accusing the Government of throwing money at the effects of their own failed tax policies. The Windsor MP suggested the Chancellor’s so-called “sin taxes” were undermining Labour’s efforts to tackle organised crime in towns and cities across Britain, and pointed to tobacco tax rises due to take effect this year. He said: “This is sticking-plaster politics – throwing money at the symptoms while ignoring what’s actually driving the decline of our high streets.” Mr Rankin added that the Government’s policies are « fuelling the rise of shopfronts that operate as fronts for organised crime”.
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The state of British high streets is negatively affecting people’s health and wellbeing (Image: Getty)
“Hiking tobacco taxes again isn’t reducing smoking rates; it’s pushing shoppers straight into the black market and helping criminal operations thrive, » he said.
“If the Government truly wants to make a seismic change, it must rethink its failed approach to so-called sin taxes – otherwise we risk turning Britain into a black market economy. »
The Chancellor’s Finance Bill could see a 50g pouch of hand-rolled tobacco hit around £50 per pack by October, with the Chancellor imposing a £2.20 tax on every 100 cigarettes, on top of the annual 2% increase above inflation.
Former head of the Australian Border Force’s tobacco taskforce Rohan Pike said: “The Government’s approach to tobacco is fuelling the problem, not fixing it.
« Vape shops and mini-marts are a well-known front for crime, including the sale of black market tobacco.
“Trying to tackle their spread, while pushing ahead with a Finance Bill, which includes an unprecedented double hike in tobacco duty, shows a lack of understanding of the drivers of this growing criminal market.
“It will only funnel more trade to the kinds of shops and criminal fronts Labour claims it wants to shut down. That’s not restoring community pride – it’s rewarding the problem.”
The UK high street retail vacancy rate stood at around 13.5% as of the third quarter of 2025.
In January 2025, the Royal Society for Public Health reported that 11.6million people « think that their local highstreets negatively impact their health and wellbeing ».
In January this year, Ms Reeves confirmed that new financial support for pubs will not be extended to other hospitality businesses, the Chancellor has reportedly indicated, as she said the package would be revealed “in the next few days”.
Ms Reeves insisted pubs faced a “far different” situation from other businesses such as hotels, restaurants and cafes as she appeared at the World Economic Forum in Davos, according to the Times.
Earlier this year, the Treasury indicated pubs would be given extra financial support amid changes in business rates announced at the budget in November.
Other high street businesses have lobbied for such support to be extended to help them weather the changing tax situation.
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