I once wrote to Lion Capital LLP to make a complaint. I did not know this at the time. You see, Lion Capital, a private equity firm, owns Weetabix, who in turn owns Ready Brek. I was making a complaint about Ready Brek.
The reason behind this meandering introduction is to dispel the myth that I was writing to a company that has any real connection to the well being of ordinary people. The brand that I had an issue with makes profits for a corporation and corporations are defined legally as a person (although they clearly are not) whose only raison d’être is to make a profit.
A supermarket, Tesco (one could argue how much a supermarket chain has affected the smaller retail business and surrounding support services. Also the predatory practices they employ against their grocery and dairy suppliers) had an ‘own-brand’ cereal with slightly more cereal in the box and almost half the price. The point in question, do you buy a box with a brand name for £3 or a box without a brand name for £1.50?
A closer inspection of the ingredients revealed that the make up of the cereal was identical. So I concluded that Ready Brek were having a laugh and I wanted to know how it could justify selling a product with an almost 100% profit margin?
I don’t recall the response exactly but the gist of the reply was that if I were not to buy Ready Brek there would be a risk that the brand would no longer be available.
Oh no! I thought to myself. What would the world be like without Ready Brek? The answer I came to was ‘more affordable’. So guess what? I never bought Ready Brek again and in the last five or so years I have not missed it at all.
So why am I writing about cereals and brand names? There is a link I promise you. In April 2016, Barack Obama, President of the United States, popped over to Blighty to tell us in no uncertain terms that if the people of the UK were to vote to leave the EU on June 23rd, we would be in the back of the queue for a trade deal. Oh no! I am thinking. What would the world be like without a trade deal with USA? And curiously enough the answer is that it would be more affordable. Let me explain why.
I, and many others, have been banging on for years about this TTIP trade deal, otherwise known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. This is the deal to which Barack Obama is referring and it is the worst kind of trade deal imaginable. It was written by corporations for corporations. It has protectionist clauses in it and it gives corporations the power to sue sovereign countries for loss of profit if, for example, the UK decides that it does not want fracking, or genetically modified crops or weedkillers, or that we would like the National Health Service to remain as a nationalised institution.
It seems reminiscent of the corporate response I received from Ready Brek, in that the US President is saying to us, if we leave the EU there would be a risk that we would not be included in TTIP.
So I am thinking, what a lucky escape it would be if the people of the UK decided to leave the EU. As a sovereign nation we could decide what we will and will not accept in this country. If we remain in the EU we will simply support the existing corporate brands, including the corrupt political establishments that support it. Do we really want more expensive brands or are we better off with cheaper, home produced, goods? Personally I think the answer is obvious.
Having watched the fact checkers from 38 degrees for both the ‘stay in’ and ‘leave’ campaigns, the only truth to come out of it was that it does not matter what side the politicians are on, they are incapable of giving the electorate an honest answer. It is typical of the developing mantras spun by party politics. Once more the establishment, even in the UK, tells us more about their agenda than it does about our choices. With a profound dearth of honesty, it is impossible to make an informed choice about anything. It is no wonder that ordinary people around the world are not only disenfranchised with established political movements but if they did but know it, much of the disenfranchisement comes from the constant manipulation and influence of corporate interest.
Growing inequality sweeps the globe like a rampant disease, fed by the single minded ideologies of Central Bank, Corporation and party politics.
Yet the world of the average person includes none of these. Ordinary people live in a world of homes to live in, family interests, employment, small and medium size business offering basic consumption and affordable leisure pursuits. We don’t need casino banks, just a high street bank to put money and savings into. We don’t need predatory corporations using every possible means to destroy our world in their pursuit to syphon off as much profit as possible. We do not need ANY political party who does not represent the electorate. We can do without ALL of them and we would live happier and more affordable lives.
Barack Obama has presented the people of the UK with a lucky escape but will we choose to take it?
