CMA@10

 

CMA@10

I was pleased to attend today’s 10-year anniversary event a decade on from the creation of the Competition and Markets Authority.

The event charted the contributions and challenges of the CMA over the last 10 years and as it continues to evolve. The CMA's stated mission is to make markets work well in the interests of consumers, businesses and the economy.  Its ambition is to be consistently one of the leading competition and consumer agencies in the world.

Kevin Hollinrake MP, the UK Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business said that the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill will “radically change the balance of power” between big corporations and smaller businesses. He remarked that: “We’re now about to enter a pivotal moment. A seismic shift. A competition revolution.”  Sarah Cardell, Chief Executive of the CMA, described the current times as a “watershed moment” as far as digital issues are concerned.

So what lies ahead for the next ten years?  Cardell hoped that by then every business and consumer will be able to say that “the CMA has done something for me”.  It’s an interesting thought.  It resembles remarks from EU Commissioner Vestager that even though the years roll by and we may get a few grey hairs, some of the fundamental principles of competition law are enduring: “In antitrust, what is at stake is, in some ways, as old as Adam and Eve because it is about greed, to get more”. 

With the challenges of Big Tech, climate change, asymmetric economic shocks and the UK having some of the lowest investment levels in business across the G7, it is tempting to think that competition law can solve most things.  Of course it cannot do that and it cannot do it alone.  Competition law and competition authorities do need to stay relevant and responsive and keep the consumer interest in focus.  Not as an abstract economic concept but consumers as human beings, with real lives and bills to pay.

The Competition and Markets Authority’s CMA@10 event ended today.