The Labour government still has a little time to stand up to the supermarkets, says Joanna Blythman


It comes as no news that the Labour government plays lapdog to our major supermarket chains, but now we have a figure that helps us quantify to what extent.

Disclosures, obtained by Friends of the Earth and the charity ActionAid under the Freedom of Information Act, reveal that between April 2008 and August 2009, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda had 13 behind-the-scenes meetings with ministers and civil servants, lobbying against the creation of an independent supermarket ombudsman.

No less than three of these have been with Lord Mandelson, head honcho for business. We all know the business secretary is an extraordinarily busy man, so audiences with him are at a premium. So if you thought that supermarket influence was confined to the days when Sir Terry Leahy was on Tony Blair's guest list at Chequers, be under no illusion: our large food retailers are still supremely well-connected within the corridors of power.

This open-door policy contrasts starkly with the access granted to the pro-ombudsman lobby. The Groceries Market Action Group, which represents UK farmers, food manufacturers, small shops and overseas producers, has been permitted just one meeting with competition minister Kevin Brennan. That's 13 to one, evidence of how the odds are heavily weighted in favour of the big players.

The Labour government has been a pushover for the supermarkets. It missed an important trick when it allowed consumer "choice" to be narrowly defined as competition between rival supermarket chains, overlooking the negative impact this would have on independent shops. Now it has a chance to claw back just a little of the ground it has conceded, by pressing on with an independent ombudsman.

Governments always love powerful, profitable companies, especially in a recession when even the banks are looking dodgy. But too much of our supermarkets' profits are co-funded by their suppliers, who are screwed down on price, and by their workforce, most of whom earn pennies over the minimum wage.

In its dying days, this Labour government has an opportunity to press on with a supermarket ombudsman. If it doesn't, it will go down in the history books as a government that let the supermarket barons carve up British food retailing to the detriment of our supply base, without any resistance whatsoever.

Joanna Blythman is a food journalist and author of Bad Food Britain.

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