Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride has announced the Conservatives will abolish business rates for high street retail and pubs if victorious at the next election, with the £4bn promise projected to benefit approximately 250,000 businesses.

Addressing the party conference in Manchester, Stride cited figures from UKHospitality that state nearly 100,000 jobs have been lost in the sector since last year’s Budget, and told attendees the Tories are the party of “fiscal responsibility.”

“Under Labour, many have seen their business rates double,” said Stride. “We need to get business rates down.”

“So today I can announce that as a direct result of getting public spending under control, a future Conservative government will completely abolish business rates for shops and pubs on our high streets. End of. Finished. Gone.”

CBI chief executive Rain Newton-Smith welcomed the announcement, but said “going further by shifting from a slab to a slice-based system would make a huge difference to increasing investment for businesses of all sizes and sectors.”

Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, agreed, adding “while reviving our high streets is important, any changes to the rates system must go further and benefit businesses of all sizes.”