Rachel Reeves is considering a crackdown on dodgy businesses on high streets like shady vape shops, barbers and candy stores in her Budget, The Mirror understands
Rachel Reeves is considering a crackdown on dodgy businesses on high streets like shady vape shops, barbers and candy stores in her Budget, The Mirror understands.
The Chancellor is under pressure to introduce a cross-government strategy to tackle rogue firms blighting Britain’s town centres in her November 2026 statement.
Insiders told The Mirror the complicated landscape means nobody has sole responsibility for tackling rogue traders operating in plain sight.
Local government is in charge of trading standards, HMRC is in charge of tax issues, and the Insolvency Service is in charge of monitoring bankruptcies and disqualifying directors. Meanwhile, the Home Office monitors illegal working and the National Crime Agency (NCA) looks into crimes like money laundering.
The Mirror understands the Chancellor wants to do something to tackle the issue and Treasury ministers are applying pressure behind the scenes.
READ MORE: Labour plots major vaping clampdown to stop kids getting addicted
Suggestions made to ministers include a taskforce led by HMRC and the Insolvency Service, which would spearhead efforts to tackle tax evasion and fraud, clawing back taxpayer money. Sources said the details are being worked out but the Government has been clear it wants to revive Britain’s high streets.
In September, Keir Starmer announced his Pride in Place strategy which pledged £5billion to rebuild deprived communities, including reviving empty shops and derelict pubs. Under the plans, local people will be given powers to block new vaping and gambling shops in their communities.
Elsewhere, earlier this year, the NCA launched Operation Machinize, a national operation targeting cash-intensive businesses, such as barbershops, vape shops, nail bars and car washes, which are often used by criminals to conceal the origins of illicit cash.
In a three-week crackdown on high street crime, 380 premises were visited, with officers securing freezing orders over bank accounts totalling more than £1million. The operation continues to bring together partners, including HMRC, local police forces and Trading Standards, and serves as an example of cross-agency collaboration in action.
MPs from across the country have been mounting pressure on the Government to take further action to fix Britain’s high streets.
Joe Powell, Labour MP for Kensington and Bayswater, told The Mirror: “From candy shops to Harry Potter stores, my residents — and legitimate high street businesses — are fed up with the blatant tax dodging that the Tories allowed to run riot across the country.
“It’s great news that the government’s Pride of Place plan will finally give councils the power to block these sham stores from securing planning permission. A firm crackdown from HMRC and the Insolvency Service would send a clear message to these fraudsters: there’s nowhere left to hide.”
Labour MP for Leigh and Atherton Jo Platt, who has a Shut Down Dodgy Shops campaign, said: “Illicit activity on our high streets doesn’t just harm local businesses and stall regeneration — it is a symptom of a much wider problem rooted in financial secrecy in Britain’s Overseas Territories.
“Tackling this requires robust enforcement, stronger powers, and coordinated action. I am committed to confronting these challenges head-on, recognising that safeguarding our high streets is not just about local enforcement, but addressing a complex national issue that affects communities across the country.
“Protecting our local economies and ensuring safe, thriving town centres is essential for the wellbeing of our communities.”
A BBC probe last week exposed a Kurdish crime network that is enabling migrants to work illegally in mini-marts on high streets. It found fake company directors are paid to put their names to official paperwork, and have dozens of businesses listed on Companies House, but are not involved in running them.
The investigation connected more than 100 mini-marts, barbershops and car washes, operating from Dundee to south Devon, to the crime network.
Over the past five years, HMRC has completed around 10,000 retail-focussed cases. It works with local authorities, law enforcement partners and other government departments to help disrupt illegal activity on the high street.
This includes its collaboration with the Insolvency Service and Companies House to tackle rogue directors abusing insolvency and dissolution processes to evade tax.
An HMRC spokesman said: “We are determined to allow honest businesses to thrive which is why we work closely with local authorities, law enforcement partners and other government departments to take action against any business that undermines the tax system.
“The majority pay the tax that is due, but we will use all of our civil and criminal powers to pursue those who refuse to play by the rules.”
An Insolvency Service spokesman said: “Rogue directors and fraudulent companies undermine trust in the business environment and harm creditors, workers and honest competitors.
“That’s why we work closely with law enforcement agencies and partners in government to investigate misconduct and hold those responsible to account.
“We have a range of powers at our disposal to tackle those who abuse the system, from director disqualifications through to criminal prosecutions for the most serious offences.”
