This is a  helpful analysis of the Government's proposed rental auction process:

• flagging up its shortcomings (far too many questions are oustanding, and lots of research would be needed to idenfity what streets are “crucial”), 
• pointing out likely political reasoning for announcing the proposal (ahead of local elections, where voters are usually more concerned about local issues, like their local high street), and 
• pinpointing some of the real reasons why our high streets might need to be rejuvenated (too much retail stock, of the wrong kind, along with the double-whammy of crippling business rates giving financial advantage to e-commerce retailers, which were clearly on the rise even pre-Covid).

In my experience, landlords typically want to generate income from their properties, and do not usually leave them empty without a good reason. Pointing the finger of blame at landlords does not change the fact that the problem of business rates continues to be an incredibly tough nut that does need to be cracked, as part of a wholesale effort to reinvigorate our high streets.