Labour’s Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds is calling for an urgent end to the ‘uncontrolled retreat of cash’. The Shadow Chancellor is urging the Government to introduce new laws to protect cash as soon as possible.

Despite the Chancellor Rishi Sunak pledging to introduce legislation to address the problem in last year’s Budget, this issue has not yet been addressed. Since the start of the pandemic, there has been a surge in shops adopting contactless methods, requesting card payments only. This has exacerbated an already worrying situation.

Research conducted by Which? suggests that an average of fifty-five high street banks have closed every month in the past five years. This adds up to the picture of an uncontrolled retreat from cash. Experts have warned that Britain is not ready to go cashless. Natalie Ceeney, chair of the Access to Cash review, says: ‘Our cash infrastructure is collapsing in front of our eyes’. She warned that once it is gone, it will never come back.

In response to this issue, Luke Pollard MP said:

“We need to protect cash. Not everyone wants to use cards or even has a bank card. The Conservative Chancellor promised to take action to protect cash over a year ago but has done absolutely nothing. He needs to understand that not everyone is a millionaire.”