Marks & Spencer pulling out of four market towns might not be big news, but try telling that to the people who live in them

I got in trouble last time I commented on the possibility of Marks & Spencer closing some of its unmodernised stores in the high streets of smaller towns, with some people in the town I mentioned becoming very angry that I’d suggested it might pull out of there.

But I’ve always thought it’s inevitable that M&S will steadily withdraw from those places where its presence has been for purely historic reasons, and this morning we got a call from the BBC’s local radio station in Lincolnshire asking for comment on the closure of M&S’s stores in Grantham, Skegness and Scunthorpe.

George did the honours and you can hear his interview here, if you go to about 15 minutes - there’s an amusing moment where the presenter takes exception to him saying M&S pulling out of a town isn’t “the end of the world”.

There’s a fourth store closing too, in Nuneaton, and I suspect the days of some others may be numbered. These stores won’t make a meaningful contribution for M&S, but the problem is that when M&S pulls out of a town, it does deliver a hammer blow to the high street - listen to the mayor of Skegness on the subject after George finishes his interview for proof. The high streets of many of these market towns are probably struggling already, but still having M&S is what gives them credibility. Take that away, and they’re in real trouble.