It’s not every day you find yourself in the middle of the day’s top political news story but, as the cost of living continues to be one of the hottest political topics, Which?’s voice – as the trusted voice of all consumers – has increasingly been listened to by politicians of all political hues.
And the debate about the cost of living is not going away any time soon. This week started with Ed Miliband’s announcement that Which? and Citizens Advice could one day advise regulators on market competition and the week ended with politicians once again arguing over the impact of economic recovery on consumers.
Perhaps that is another reason why our independent, trusted voice and in-depth consumer insight has been so vital in this age where seven in ten people tell us they distrust politicians.
Which?started out as a small volunteer organisation. Now, more than half a century later, we have grown to over 800,000 members but still act entirely independently, take no government funding and have a seat at some of the most influential tables making sure the voice of consumers are heard.
We’ve long campaigned for greater competition across industries, as choice for the consumer doesn’t only bring down costs but it improves standards. Markets that work for consumers are good for growing businesses, for innovation and for driving sustainable growth in the wider economy. Of course, we still need to see the detail of Labour’s proposal but with trust in essential markets at rock bottom and millions still feeling the financial squeeze, there is much to do to put the consumer at the heart of policy-making.
Working with government, the opposition, regulators, businesses and their representatives to get the consumer voice heard is bread and butter for Which?. And while we still test washing machines and put pushchairs through their paces, we’re much more than a magazine.
We help consumers to take action by providing information and advice to make complex markets simpler and easier to understand. And when we think that an important consumer market fails to deliver better value to customers, we aim to do what we think other businesses should do, developing products and services that put customers’ needs first and are worth paying for. We now offer expert legal and mortgage advice, as well as free information on consumer rights and university choices. Over a million people visited each of these sites last year – and its growing – as are the resources we provide to help people to take action, which includes 100 downloadable letters on our consumer rights website.
Where choice and information alone isn’t enough to help consumers get a good deal we campaign for fundamental change in those markets. More than 150,000 people signed our pledge for banking reform, one of our biggest campaigns to date, calling for a culture change in the banking industry. We are now working hard with industry to make that a reality.
The cost of living has become a political hot potato and consumer groups are vital to help politicians understand how they can serve the electorate better. Putting the voice of real people at the heart of a policy debate is not a bad thing.Looking at it that way, advising future governments doesn’t look so out of place for an organisation which started out in a garage.