Why M&S remains a bellwether for the British high street

To the places affected it’s seen as signifying rejection, that somehow they are not deemed ‘good enough’ to have an M&S, writes Chris Blackhurst

At a meeting of Putney Conservative Association, Justine Greening, the local MP, was promoting the need for social mobility. It was vital for the wellbeing of the nation, she said, that more people like her, a state-educated Northerner, were able to get on, to be presented with opportunity and fulfill their ability.

When it came to questions, a hand went up. Social mobility was all very well, said her interrogator, but what did she feel about the closure of the Putney branch of Marks & Spencer? There were murmurs of approval in the room – this was a subject dear to the audience’s heart.

What was particularly galling, it turned out, was not only that the southwest London suburb was losing its cherished store, but that Putney was bracketed with a host of industrial towns in the North and Midlands that were being dropped by M&S, the once bellwether of prosperity. It was shaming, humiliating.