The absolute insanity of the SNP’s plan to cap the price of food
The political drama (or farce) of Westminster politics will dominate the news agenda for the rest of the summer. The high-stakes Makerfield by-election next month will be followed by a Labour leadership election – or, possibly, a coronation – leading to a change of Prime Minister and an entirely new policy agenda.
The consequences of this Labour Party blood-letting will be profound and quite possibly catastrophic, so let’s distract ourselves from it, for a short while, by turning our gaze north, beyond Manchester, to Scotland – where the Scottish National Party is entering its third decade in power.
Before the recent elections I read the SNP’s manifesto, and was tickled by a number of proposals. They pledge to impose fresh taxes on private jets and mansions while giving every 18-year-old £200 to spend on culture. They want to provide a minimum income for artists and say they’ll hold more public inquiries, presumably just for the fun of them.
What really stood out was the promise to cap the prices of basic food items including bread, milk and eggs.
It was a bonkers proposal for a manifesto but now, having won, it’s becoming an insane part of their actual legislative agenda. In the words of former retail chief and West Midlands mayor Andy Street, it’s an idea that comes from the “economic madhouse” – but this is the SNP’s Scotland, and the lunatics are in charge. Shore Capital (home to some of the best retail analysts in the City) says the policy is the kind of thing you’d expect from “a severely struggling less developed nation.”
SNP policy ‘hair-brained’
In a detailed note looking at the policy, they point out that “the UK has one of the most competitive grocery retail sectors in the world, backed up by a superb supply chain,” and that if the SNP want to help retailers – and consumers – they’d be better off looking at the mountain of external cost pressures on the sector, many of which stem directly from government.
Shore Cap’s experts give the policy a fair hearing before concluding that it’s “hair-brained” and could only come from people who “have never worked in markets” and have spent a career “living off and spending other people’s money.”
Meanwhile, returning our attention to Manchester, Andy Burnham kicked off his campaign for Prime Minister yesterday by pledging to make “rent, bills and fares” more affordable. He should wait and see how Scotland’s price caps work out before inflicting anything similar on the rest of us.