£11 BILLION EASTER SHOPPING BONANZA
SHOPPERS are set for an £11.5billion Easter spending splurge.
The hot weather is expected to drive up till takings in a huge boost for the High Street. Garden centres and DIY stores are predicted to benefit in particular, with sales tipped to be up 8.5 per cent on last year. Britons will also splash out on summer clothes and days out over the bank holiday weekend, experts said.
The spending bonanza over the Easter week will be the equivalent of £410 for every household in the country. And it will come as a huge relief for struggling town centre retailers.
The forecast from the Centre for Economics and Business Research follows a string of positive economic figures including record employment, inflation- beating
wage rises and buoyant retail growth in March. Owen Good, of the CEBR, said: ‘Recent retail data has been very strong, and aided by the good weather and Easter falling late this year, we expect a bumper long weekend for the High Street.’
The Met Office expects Easter to be the hottest weekend of the year so far, with highs of up to 27C (80F) on Monday, making Britain warmer than Italy, Spain and Portugal. By contrast, Good Friday and Easter Saturday last year was marked by heavy rain that led to a 7.5 per cent fall in visits to the High Street.
A later Easter this year means families are more likely to stock up on outdoor gear as the country basks in the heat. Fashion chains are also expected to see a surge in business, along with spending at restaurants and pubs.
Anne Alexandre, of the British Retail Consortium, said: ‘When the weather is good as forecasted, consumers are attracted to the summer ranges of clothing and footwear, which are available in the shops, leading to good fashion sales.
‘With many shops closed on Easter Sunday, fashion sales can often give way to spending on family activities, particularly on a sunny day.’
Tourism body VisitEngland expects a record 7.4million Britons to take so-called staycations over the bank holiday in an estimated £1.8billion boost to the economy. As families hit the roads, the RAC estimated an 4.4million car journeys for yesterday alone.
VisitEngland director Patricia Yates said: ‘It is great to see so many Brits are planning holidays at home in the UK in what is set to be a cracking Easter, bringing a boost for businesses and local economies.’ A bumper weekend will give a further boost to the UK economy after figures from the Office for National Statistics this week suggested growth remains solid.
Britain’s jobs miracle is continuing, with the employment rate now standing at a record 7 .1 per cent and 32.7million people in work. The unemployment rate is just 3.9 per cent – half that of the eurozone and the lowest level since 1975 when Harold Wilson was prime minister.
At 3.5 per cent, annual wage growth stands at a decade best and is significantly ahead of inflation – now at 1.9 per cent – meaning families’ pay packets are stretching further each month. Retail sales for March were far better than expected, at .7 per cent higher than a year earlier. It comes as retailers are fighting a sales slump triggered by the rise of internet shopping. A string of firms have shut stores, been bailed out or gone bust in the past two years. Big names such as HMV and House of Fraser both had to be saved after falling into administration.
Debenhams became the latest casualty when it fell into the hands of lenders this month. Retailers face the threat of internet giants such as Amazon while contending with rising rents and sky-high business rates. At least 50,000 shopping jobs vanished last year alone.
The Daily Mail is campaigning for a reform of business rates so the system is fairer for bricks and mortar stores.
WHEN the Tory faithful in a quintessential shire county like Derbyshire rise up in open rebellion against the leadership, you know the party is in all kinds of trouble.
As a defiant protest at the failure to deliver Brexit on time and the hugely unpopular decision to engage in cross-party talks with Labour, Derbyshire County Council’s entire Conservative association is to boycott the forthcoming European elections.
On the perfectly reasonable grounds that we should have left the EU already, they are refusing to take any part in campaigning. No leafleting, no door- knocking, no candidate support.
True, this is just one regional association. But their action is deeply symbolic. Discontent is simmering across Tory Britain, as MPs have alienated themselves from the grass roots.
That disconnect is a recipe for disaster. If MPs don’t represent the membership, who do they represent?
The truth is that in all the Brexit feuding, far too many have put personal vanity and hubris before party.
Diehard Remainers have scorned those who voted them in by reneging on their 2017 manifesto promise to get us out of the EU, while the Brexit ‘ultras’ have scuppered the Prime Minister’s honourable compromise deal in pursuit of an unachievable dream.
They have all dragged their party down. And for their sins, nemesis is on its way – in the shape of a revivified Nigel Farage.
From a standing start, his Brexit party is already comfortably ahead in the polls, leaving the Conservatives languishing on a paltry 15 per cent. Labour have also suffered from their own policy of ‘constructive ambiguity’ (otherwise known as chronic indecision), but less dramatically. Some will try to minimise the Tory slump as a one-off protest. But it is far more than that.
The party has manifestly failed to deliver Brexit and is being punished for it. Its members feel desperately let down and are rapidly losing heart. Some, like those in Derbyshire, have had as much as they can take of duplicity and incompetence.
But while fully understanding their anger and disappointment, the Mail appeals to them – and all Tory voters – to keep the faith. Not only for the sake of their own party, but also to ward off the greatest peril of all – the hideous spectre of a Corbyn government propped up by the Scottish Nationalists.
No Brexit outcome, however disorderly, would come close to the damage that toxic combination would inflict on the British way of life. To prevent it, they must back the Tories – for all their faults.
If MPs can somehow see the light and help Mrs May chart a version of her bruised and battered deal through the Commons, we would at least be out of the EU.
This would lift a huge burden from the next party leader, allowing them to concentrate on the things that really matter to people – health, social care, schools, policing.
Conservatives of all stripes must park their differences and pull together for the common good. Failure to do so could be truly catastrophic.
For make no mistake, the risk of a permanent Tory split – and a Marxist takeover of Downing Street – is not impossible. It’s frighteningly real. BUT while Westminster is locked in febrile paralysis, real people outside the bubble are keeping calm and carrying on. Employment is at a record high, high street spending has received an unexpected boost and most of Britain is basking in glorious sunshine. In this traditional season of contemplation, let’s count our blessings and accentuate the many positives of this great country. A very happy Easter to all our readers.