Mike's Minute: No smoking gun for the supermarkets either!

Nicola Willis was back yesterday for another "guns at dawn" with the supermarkets. 

She had the results of the RFI, the Request for Information. The main takeaway was we are too tied up in red tape and we need to make it easier to do business. 

Now we know this of course, because before the RFI she told us this, and she told us she was going to do something about it. She told us she was going to do something about it again yesterday. 

Play another song Nicola. 

Then the bad news: ALDI and Lidl, a couple of large supermarket players who she had been courting, didn’t even take part in the RFI. Why? 

Because, as I have said for about two years, we are too small and the scandal Nicola insists exists, actually doesn’t. There is no scandal, they just can't be bothered with a country our size. 

Costco did take part though. But Costco isn't Nicola's answer. Why? 

Because Costco isn’t going nationwide, even though Nicola said they may, may, have one or two more stores in the coming years. 

Then the worst bit of her greatest hits show, the finger wagging exercise, yet again, of threatening to break the industry up with regulation. 

She is awaiting a report. When? She doesn’t have a date. 

Who's doing the report? The same company that did the same report for Labour. It's good work if you can get it, aye? 

So what did we actually end up with? A re-announcement of the fact we are hard to do business with. Fine, stop telling us and actually change the laws. 

The second issue is major players couldn’t even be bothered taking part. 

And the third point, the thing that may bring real change. Do remember, I think all this is nonsense but in Nicola's mind it's a scandal. 

But the thing that can bring real change is no closer because we don't have the report and we don’t even know when we are getting the report. 

Having got the report there is of course no reason to think such a major business-busting trigger by a so-called "business friendly" Government would even be pulled. 

So, is your trolley any cheaper? Has Nicola or her Grocery Commissioner, another game-changing pile of nonsense she referenced, actually achieved anything? 

Has a cent been saved? Has a law been changed? Has a new player arrived? 

Or is this just like the banks? No smoking gun to be found?

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