How the High Street became a window on our political instability

Of course, it’s an uneven picture across the country. Some town centres appear to be thriving, and in those places you won’t notice much visible sign of criminality – though the NCA did find organised High Street crime gangs in every part of the UK during an operation last year. Research from the Centre for Cities points to Cambridge, York, Edinburgh and Manchester as relative success stories. But this reflects another problem: inequality, because it tends to be places that are already wealthier that have less High Street crime. Towns that are already struggling, meanwhile, are the ones that attract money-laundering gangs.