The general election, already in full swing though yet to be declared, has been unsettling retail sector investors all year.

The general election, already in full swing though yet to be declared, has been unsettling retail sector investors all year.

As the politicians jockey for power and arguments rage over how deep spending cuts should be and when they should start, few doubt that economic conditions are likely to remain stormy for general retailers.

The showdown between the parties may also have repercussions for food retailers, which could end up becoming a political football. And after a year in which food stocks were frequently overlooked by investors buying into oversold general store groups, more political interest is particularly unwelcome.

The latest broadside was fired earlier this week by the Tories, whose planning paper raised the prospect of greater power for local councils to oppose out-of-town schemes and new powers to consider competition issues when drawing up local plans. The Conservatives also intend to bring back the ‘needs test’ for new supermarkets.

Any party is entirely within its rights to propose measures it thinks reflect electors’ interests, but store chiefs - especially grocery bosses - will have read of the plans with a depressing sense of “here we go again” after the various inquiries and confrontations of recent years.

What has been missing from all the parties so far is any sense of the importance of the retail sector - as a creator of jobs and wealth - as the country battles to emerge from recession.

Partly perhaps it is because stores can be seen, unfairly, as a potent symbol of spending and the credit-fuelled binge while hair-shirts remain the fashion of the day.

But the growth of the consumer economy and its constituent companies seems to be less important politically that of other industrial sectors, and therefore less likely to be looked on favourably during the economic arguments of the general election.

Like it or not, until the smoke clears after polling day, the election is likely to remain a drag on store stocks.