Senior Liberal Democrat MP Once Again Backs Fed Call for Retail Security Grants

Senior Liberal Democrat MP, Joshua Reynolds, once again backed the Fed’s call for the introduction of targeted retail security grants in Parliament on Wednesday March 4th.

Joshua Reynolds, MP for Maidenhead, worked in retail before entering Parliament at the 2024 General Election and currently serves as Liberal Democrat front bench spokesperson on Investment & Trade. The Fed’s National President, Hetal Patel, operates a business in Mr. Reynolds constituency and the Fed met with Joshua in October where Mr. Patel raised the challenge of retail crime.

In the debate in Parliament this week on possible spending for the Department for Business and Trade, Mr. Reynolds said: “Every time we visit shops in our constituencies, we will hear the same things about shoplifting having effectively been decriminalised. Thieves do not face the consequences because there are no consequences, and shoplifting has risen in England Wales over the last five years. Shop owners told time and again the contact the police and are told it is not an effective use of resources.”

Subsequent to the Autumn meeting with the Fed and his colleague Sarah Olney MP, the Liberal Democrats announced in December that it was backing its proposals for introducing retail security grants so small retail businesses could install higher quality CCTV and better security measures.

Speaking this week in Parliament, Mr. Reynolds reiterated that, stating: “[retail crime offences] are not minor offences to people running these businesses, they are haemorrhaging money… The Government could make available grants for every independent convenience store, covering some of that cost and working with high street lenders. This is not just our idea but is supported by the Federation of Independent retailers.”

The Fed’s National President, Hetal Patel said: “I am greatly encouraged that Joshua continues to work closely with the Fed to ensure the voice of all independent retailers is heard in Parliament, particularly on the massive impact of retail crime. We look forward to meeting with Mr. Reynolds again in the near future and we continue to work with MPs across Westminster to highlight the impact of this problem.”