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Hate to say I told you so, but what exactly did anyone expect from an initiative backed by a reality TV star and s shiny toothed politician?

Mary might once have been a retail adviser worth her salt, and she still put some good ideas into her review, but essentially she's only got an eye on the next PR stunt these days. Who can blame her? That's how she makes her living.

If the government was really serious about revitalising the high street they'd have brought in a panel of retail, property and local authority experts with an agenda that would have had some real political clout. Instead they asked a woman off the telly to run something up in her spare time.

As it stands they've only cherry picked the PR friendly aspects of her report and focussed on what they think will make the best headlines for the least money and commitment.

What is needed is lease reform, rates reform (this year they increased rates at twice the level of inflation) and proper control of large out of town shopping centres. Margate in particular has be devastated by a major mall and three large supermarkets all located out of town. You don't need to be a retail guru to work out where the problems lie.

It's arguable that government policy specifically advantages these centres and disadvantages local towns. Almost as if politicians are more concerned about big investment than local jobs and livelihoods. Surely not!

The Portas bandwagon is simply a smokescreen used to divert attention away from the almost total disregard from successive governments of the pressures being placed on ordinary retailers. It should be replaced as quickly as possible with realistic government policy, otherwise well meaning people are simply fighting a losing battle.