Labour will give new powers to residents in order to help save run-down pubs and libraries to try to save ailing high streets.

The new "Pride in Place" programme, set to be formally unveiled today, will allow community groups to block unwanted betting and vape shops, as well as "fake" Turkish barbers.

New right-to-buy and compulsory purchase powers will also be given to local authorities in an effort to give a new lease of life to ailing high streets and the boarded-up shops which sadly line them.

In the first half of this year, 209 pubs closed - with industry leaders blaming the rise in employer National Insurance and increasing staff costs.

Communities Secretary Steve Reed hailed the powers as promoting "patriotic renewal" which would combat "Reform's toxic division".

He told The Telegraph: "Communities feel powerless as their local areas slide into decline.

"Litter on their street. Derelict pubs on the corner. Vape and gambling shops taking over the high street."

He then claimed Nigel Farage and Reform UK were "exploiting these trends", adding: "By giving people the money and power to decide how to improve their communities we are choosing pride in our neighbourhoods, and patriotic renewal over decline and toxic division."

Reform UK has polled consistently ahead of Labour since March this year - and the party has enjoyed major success at by-elections.

An average of eight pubs are thought to close every week

Some 340 communities across the country will be given access to a multi-billion pound fund, with extra grants given to projects which have consulted community groups, local organisations and social clubs.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said the programme will hope to tackle deep-rooted deprivation and regional inequality.

The Government has already been clamping down on betting shops and barbers this year in a bid to stop high streets becoming overrun.

High streets have been dying in recent years, with many shops having to close

In April, police targeted hundreds of barber shops in a three-week crackdown on modern slavery and money laundering.

More than £1million was frozen in bank accounts, with dozens arrested and 265 cash-intensive high street business raided.

Turkish-style barbers were police's focus - with security experts warning increasing numbers on British high streets are fronts for Albanian and Kurdish gangs concealing human trafficking, slave labour and drug dealing.

Betting shops have also been targeted, much to the behest of the Betting and Gaming Council.

A spokesman said betting shops are "far more than just places to have a flutter: they are community hubs, economic drivers and a vital part of the high street's future".

However, many have welcomed the scheme, including the Local Government Association which called for the funding to be "allocated in a fair, flexible manner based on what local places need, with necessary support from Government to trust them to get on with the job".