Rayner says high streets will change before next election

Angela Rayner, the UK housing secretary, has said voters will begin to see a difference on their high street before the next general election. She made the remark in an interview for the Guardian's series on the fortunes of Britain's towns.

The most concrete element of the government's approach is money. Chancellor John Healey earmarked more than £1bn in his debut budget to support retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, such as shops, pubs and cafes. The plan is to cut business rates, the property-based tax firms pay on the premises they use, for those companies, at a cost of £1bn over two years. Part of that relief would be paid for by higher taxes on gambling and vape shops.

Alongside the budget, Labour launched a revamped strategy it calls "hope on the high street". A separate "pride in place" programme, worth £5.8bn, is intended to support regeneration projects, meaning the redevelopment of run-down areas.

The pressure on the sector is visible in corporate news as well. Poundland's owners have filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators, a formal step that can lead to a company being run by insolvency professionals. The filing puts up to 12,000 jobs at risk.

Andy Burnham has also pledged business rate cuts for pubs, cafes and other small businesses as part of his agenda for government.

The government has been making high street commitments for some months. In September it announced a £210m boost to bring boarded-up high streets back to life, with a plan to convert derelict buildings into shared workspaces, cafes and community hubs. In August, the prime minister vowed to save "hollowed out high streets" through a crackdown on vape and betting shops.

Rayner, speaking at the Labour Party Conference in September, promised better jobs, better wages, better public services and better high streets. Labour says it wants to reverse the fortunes of towns plagued by boarded-up shops and rogue businesses.