Conservative government would reduce the power of supermarkets
The Conservative Party has confirmed it would bring in a so-called "supermarkets tsar" to oversee the supermarket sector if it is successful at the next general election. The idea would be to force supermarkets to pay a fair price for produce from suppliers and indeed keep a very close eye on their power and influence not only in the retail market but also on local economies.
For many years there has been growing concern about the power and strength of UK supermarkets with the likes of Tesco, Asda, Morrison and Sainsbury able to influence many areas of the UK retail market. Indeed we have seen a number of smaller operations fall by the wayside purely and simply as a consequence of the massive competition in the sector which has squeezed profit margins for many companies. This has left the larger companies such as Tesco, Asda, Morrison and Sainsbury to lead the way.
Whether the introduction of a supermarkets tsar would have any real impact is debatable as the UK government has on a number of occasions attempted to rein in the power of the supermarkets to no avail. This is just the latest in a number of expected "voter friendly" announcements as we approach the next general election. There is a need to be "seen to be doing the right thing" although whether many of these initiatives will actually make it onto the statute books remains to be seen.
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