Why something must be done!

We were reminded this last week of how fickle and perverse the British consumer can be. While the public is happy to reveal its hedonistic instincts through increased leisure spending and a willingness to immerse itself in the expanding “experience economy”, it is also fuelling what Paul Flatters, chief executive of Future Foundation research group, calls a growing “assault on pleasure”. Speaking at M&C Report’s Licensed Retail Conference, Flatters highlighted a trend towards the restriction and regulation of individual indulgences and pleasures that used to be tolerated. These, he said, were now manifesting themselves in an increased desire to restrict or outlaw other people’s indulgences – with lobby groups and consumers often leading the way. The phenomenon was partly the by-product of an increasing culture of fear in society and the growth of the victim culture, where nothing was accidental but someone else’s fault. Unfortunately, he said, there was no evidence of any libertarian backlash to counter it. The leisure and hospitality industry will recognise the picture he painted only too well. It has been at the sharp end of the assault, being blamed for everything from obesity to underage binge drinking to late-night violence on the nation’s streets. It comes from all quarters and all shades of political opinion, Labour, Tory and LibDem – from the Daily Mail and its readers, from health campaigners from the environmentalists. So what, if anything, can those in the firing line do about it? The first reaction is usually to blame the Government, and it has much to be blamed for. By its nature, it is often the ultimate imposer of new restrictions. But to concentrate all the venom on Westminster and Whitehall misses an important part of the analysis. Government is frequently reacting to public opinion, the “something must be done” brigade. The main objective of political parties, after all, is to get elected, or re-elected, and that means courting popularity with segments of the great British public. Why else is new Conservative leader David Cameron so eager to claim the “green” vote? Just blaming Government for an industry’s ills also falls into the trap of becoming a victim just like all the rest. Of course, Government policy that restricts business unfairly should be countered with strong, logical and reasoned argument. But industries like hospitality and licensed retail should perhaps also examine a little more closely what lies behind those initiatives. Is it that the public really does support them? That can certainly be argued with smoking. Or could a market itself have done more earlier to head off unwelcome regulation if it had paid a little more attention? Licensing reform is perhaps an example. The pub and bar market was demonised by the media over binge drinking and anti-social behaviour. Unfairly, we probably all agree. But could more have been done earlier to withdraw cheap drink offers, be tougher on proof-of-age and improve security and safety – and so avoid at least some of the harm to the sector’s image with the wider public? Clamping down on the pub industry is not unpopular with the wider population. But the pub market can act responsibly. Even the Home Office seems to accept that the introduction of the Licensing Act has gone well, with operators by and large responding well to the new regime. The result is that Daily Mail has been deprived of its expected shock headlines of post-reform carnage on the streets. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but perhaps taking action earlier, rather than when it was about to be forced on the sector, might also have averted some of the less welcome aspects of reform, such as random test-purchases and summary closure? It’s not easy. It involves judging when to take a principled stance and when to be pragmatic. But underlying this is the need to get closer to and more in tune with wider public opinion as well as consumer trends and changing tastes. Consumers can be fickle, perverse and downright contradictory. Public opinion is always important and often influential. Understanding and accepting that is vital.