OFT was a Tory intervention

BYLN:

A small but significant error crept into Iain Murray’s excellent piece, “The need to court the consumer” (MW October 13). The Office of Fair Trading was, in fact, the creation of a Conservative government.

Why is this significant? Because it gives the lie to those who think Conservative governments are non-interventionist and “deregulatory”.

For example, a glance at the Department of Trade and Industry’s deregulation initiative, as it affects marketing, reveals that half the measures were put on the statute book by the Conservatives themselves. The other half were required by virtue of European Community directives, most of which were agreed to by Conservative ministers.

Mind you, as a lawyer, the last thing I want is a genuine deregulatory government. It would be bad for business!

Philip Circus

Marketing Law Advisory Service

London SW1