COMMENT


Is a change as good as a rest?


T


hey say it’s not over until it’s over, but, to be fair, the mezzo-soprano had been warming up her larynx for some time before yesterday’s denoument (yes, I’m writing this on July 5th, after minimal sleep, having watched the results come in for way longer than I should have done).


In 1992, I was watching as it became apparent that the BBC had got the exit poll badly wrong, calling it for a hung Parliament, when, in reality, and as the incoming results were making clear, John Major – as befits his circus legacy - had pulled the majority rabbit from his hat. Not so this time. The pollsters, lead by the estimable Sir John Curtice, called it for a Labour landslide, and so it came to pass.


Now that we have a slightly clearer idea of who’s in charge, what do we need them to do? Well, just as when you move house there’s usually some junk that the previous owners have overlooked or forgotten to take with you, there’s bound to be some legacy stuff that needs dealing with. This means it’ll probably take a while it’ll take a while to sort through all the post- election noise. Plus, there’s the pleasing way that politicians have of doing nothing and blaming it all on the previous incumbent. “Oh, I’m sorry, but that was our Mr Sunak’s fault. He’s no longer with the government”.


Once this new lot has checked behind all the Downing Street cushions, cleared out the shed, and generally de-Toryfied the place, we need them to crack on with investing in our infrastructure, our housing stock, in improving our energy efficiency.


There needs to be some serious sorting out of the water industry as well. In all the run-up to the election there was precious little promised, or even hinted about, by any of the parties, save the


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Greens, on the appalling state that successive governments have let our water industry fall into. I say fall, like it was accidental, but scooping out gazillions in dividends and siphoning them away to pension funds halfway across the world isn’t something that happens by accident. Housing. We. Need. To. Build. More. Homes. This country hasn’t built sufficient homes for its population for decades. Once upon a time, we did. We built homes that were made available for ordinary working people, to coin Sir Keir Starmer’s oft-trotted-out phrase, to live their lives in, to raise their families in, to go to work from and to return to at the end of the working day. It was called council housing, and it was for people who couldn’t afford to take on mortgages, or who chose not to. Then we sold them off in the 1980s.


Wouldn’t it be good if we could do something like that again, and, while we’re at it, make sure that those homes are fit for the future, efficient in their use of energy to heat them, and build them, and healthy to live in – not air-tight boxes that mouldy old spores just love?


The UK has some of the most inefficient housing stock in Europe – geographically we’re still art of Europe as far as I’m concerned, and we will never get anywhere near the target for net zero if we don’t come up with a structured programme of renovation and refurbishment on millions of homes. A sort of National Retrofit Strategy, if you like. Why has no one thought of that before? They have? But the government hasn’t been listening? Well, now we have new people in charge, that will all change. Just like it did before. Oh, wait. My mistake. BMJ


Fiona Russell-Horne Group Managing Editor - BMJ


“


Midway upon the journey of our life I found myself within a forest dark,


For the straightforward pathway had been lost.


Dante Alighieri ”


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NMBS held its 2024 Conference in Cyprus. BMJ reports on the key elements.


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18 In Person Meet Mark Hughes, NBG’s new md.


19 Business Helpdesk The latest advice from the BMF’s business support partners.


21 Business Focus Employee ownership of businesses is a growing trend.


22 Merchant focus A new vision for Alsford.


24 Viewpoint Our regular and guest columnists.


26 BMJ Industry Awards 2024 The nominations are in: It’s time to vote. 29 Roofing


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34 Sealants & Adhesives Sticking with new initiatives


37 Damp protection What is traumatic damp, and how can merchants make the most of its prevention?


38 Industry Voice News & views from the BMF


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42 And Finally News and the Prize Crossword.


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