The high street pummelling proves once again that empty government slogans are not enough

The government, faced with hollowed-out communities asking themselves why they listened to empty Tory talk of aspiration and levelling up, cannot deliberate any longer over a plan to fix the high street crisis, writes James Moore

Debenhams stores are to close putting 12,000 jobs at risk (AFP via Getty)

The collapse of Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group and the demise of Debenhams is a devastating combination; a double high street haymaker in the form of a nasty jab to the head followed by an upper cut.  

The one-two follows a series of body blows courtesy of the steady flow of pre-pandemic closures that were already in train. The latter has served to charge up the process.  

Some 13,000 jobs are at risk at places like Topshop, Miss Selfridge, Burton and Dorothy Perkins, now Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia has collapsed into administration. Bar a miracle, the jobs of 12,000 Debenhams employees are gone, now JD Sports, the last potential buyer, is out. The Christmas season can sometimes be terribly cruel.