A Labour government will “breathe life back into the high streets” by supporting the hospitality sector, shadow business minister Jonathan Reynolds has pledged.

Speaking at the UKHospitality Summer Conference, Reynolds, shadow secretary of state for business and industrial strategy, laid out Labour’s regeneration plans if the party is successful in the next general election.

He said Keir Starmer’s mission to return Britain to a G7 leading high growth economy will be judged by the vibrancy of the country’s towns and cities.

“It will be judged by how our high streets look and feel, by working people having more money at the end of the month to treat themselves and their families, by businesses thriving and investing,” he said.

“That is the measure of our success, and we won’t get there by accident. It requires a government that’s in the picture when it comes to businesses’ needs.

“The government can’t fix everything and it’s not the job of politicians to tell people how to run their business. But what I know you want is a partner in government and ministers who are willing to listen and respond.”

Reynolds committed the next Labour government to reforming business rates, which he said was archaic and holding firms back.

“Our review of the business tax regime, which looks at how to increase certainty and investment, will include the hospitality sector”, he continued.

Reforms to the planning system will ensure “businesses can grow and to breathe life back into high streets”.

In addition, Reynolds detailed the need to focus on promoting long-term careers within the sector.

“We also intend to reform the apprenticeship levy, to allow firms to invest in skills that further their communities and businesses”, he said.

He claimed the Labour party understood the “worry about tax burdens on hospitality businesses during such a difficult time”, and assured attendees its ministers would listen.

“We know that certainty and stability are vital,” he added. “The past few years have been hard, and they continue to be. You’ve been jumping from one crisis to another; Brexit, Covid, and now the cost-of-living crisis. [It has] not been an easy time to run a business or to work in hospitality.

“People talk about sleepless nights, the overwhelming worry for staff in the workforce, some have felt they had little choice but to walk away from businesses built up over many years.

“The last few years have been marked by too much yo-yoing and last-minute emergency packages announced at the 11th hour.

“The resilience people in the sector have shown is nothing short of incredible, and I want to say thank you for that.”

On Labour’s regeneration ambitions, he continued: “Hospitality is 3% of our economic output, and it employs millions of people. I don’t need to tell you the impact that you have.

“In my own area of my constituency, hospitality has been a huge boost to the high street, but also developed a sense of community. We’re basing our regeneration plans around what this sector provides to an area.

“These are the places people spend their hard-earned money and the services that we value in our day to day lives.

“Under Labour, you’ll have that stable environment you need to plan.”