By any standards, the message was stark. Respected insolvency trade body R3 claims almost a third of Midland retailers are at risk of collapse following the most recent Rent Quarter Day.

R3 Midlands chairman Richard Philpott, who is also a partner at KPMG, says cash-flow headaches, the growth of online retail channels and the sluggish recovery from recession are all putting the squeeze on the High Street.

Whilst the Tories and Labour trade their traditional party conference blows like Spitting Image puppets writ large, it seems 30 per cent of the High Street could be about to bleed to death, if R3 is to be believed.

It is advisable to retain some perspective here. Surveys on the economy are ten a penny, often largely cosmetic PR-generated exercises which are as much about getting their clients in print (and hopefully picking up a bit of business for them along the way) as they are about any news of genuine substance.

Nevertheless Mr Philpott, as a senior figure at KPMG, should know what he is talking about, and times are undoubtedly still tough on the High Street, which has been battered in recent times by the double-dip recession, declining consumer confidence and the unstoppable march of Internet trading. Just ask the likes of HMV, Blockbuster, Jessops and a few others.

Most commentators recognise that there is a recovery of sorts underway in the UK, particularly in the manufacturing sector, with automotive, aerospace and pharmaceuticals all in bullish mood. A recent Birmingham Chamber of Commerce survey said confidence amongst Midland manufacturers was at a six-year high, before the world went mad in 2007-08.

But that new feelgood factor is clearly not translating to the High Street, to judge by R3’s gloomy prognosis.

It’s hard to escape the conclusion that however well the likes of Jaguar Land Rover are doing (and they are doing very well indeed) the High Street is continuing to suffer because wages have been stagnant or worse for years. The recovery, however welcome, is a mere fig leaf on an otherwise bare landscape.