The price tag is the current system’s alpha, its omega and everything in between
Editorial in The Guardian, 16 October 2010:
“In a week of quaking quangos, the world of commerce has eyes for only two – the Competition Commission and the Office of Fair Trading, two bodies set to be amalgamated in the name of efficiency. The pink pages buzz with debate about whether the move amounts to the merging of judge and prosecutor, and about whether big firms will find ways to sideline a streamlined system. These are important, if prosaic, questions, but the re-engineering of the architecture of competition enforcement ought also, surely, to be a moment to reconsider some of the competition rules. These rules bite on every corner of community life, from the corner shop to the pub, with the latest in a line of verdicts concerning the pricing of a pint being handed down just this week. The current system has certainly driven down costs for the consumer, but the price tag is its alpha, its omega and everything in between. There is no place in the rules for the tinkle of the bell at a much-loved local bookshop or the pride in a high street that looks distinctive, yet people value these things. That is why community resistance campaigns – such as the one that Tesco has just overcome at Sheringham – are routinely sparked by applications from the big stores. The Red Tory Phillip Blond has led the calls for a rethink, and Ed Miliband spoke up for diverse retail in his Labour conference speech. Left and right must now come up with practical plans to replace rigid rules, which know the price of everything and the value of nothing.”