Doom loop of decline: how struggling high streets fuel far-right sympathies in UK

Some of the decline is self-inflicted. Almost half of Britons do not visit their high street or shopping area at least once a week. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

Up and down Britain there are boarded-up shops. Banks and department stores have been replaced by vape shops, barbers and bookmakers. Shoplifting is at a record high, local services cut, and public frustration is mounting.

Politically, high street decline is perfect campaign fodder for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.