“some of your small shopkeepers might look at the huge supermarket chains and ask whether any political party will ever restrain them.”

The claim is a broad, hypothetical observation, but it is consistent with contemporaneous evidence that small retailers were بالفعل concerned about supermarket power and wanted political action. A House of Commons petition said small shops were struggling because competition authorities had not dealt with the supermarkets’ aggressive policies, and asked the government to protect small shops and create an independent regulator. (hansard.parliament.uk) In 2011, Labour leader Ed Miliband said local people should have more say over the spread of supermarkets and that Labour was considering policy changes, including measures that could help small shopkeepers. (theguardian.com) The House of Commons Library later described these issues as long-running concerns about the dominance of the major supermarkets in the UK groceries market. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk) Sources: House of Commons Hansard, “Future of Small Shops” — https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2009-12-15/debates/09121574000046/FutureOfSmallShops; The Guardian, “Ed Miliband backs greater voice for locals on spread of supermarkets” — https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/may/01/ed-miliband-supermarket-policy; House of Commons Library, “Supermarkets: competition inquiries into the groceries market” — https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn03653/.