Breaking the Armlock

Take Action
If you are concerned about supermarket power you may want to visit the Tescopoly alliance website where you can take action to encourage the Competition Commission to introduce new regulation to curb supermarket power and email your local MP to sign EDM 961.

Breaking the Armlock is an alliance of 17 farming, consumer, development and environmental organisations calling for stricter controls over the major supermarkets' trading practices, particularly to stop them passing on unreasonable costs and demands to farmers and growers in the UK and overseas.

The alliance, which includes ActionAid, Banana Link, British Independent Fruit Growers Association, farm, Farmers for Action, Farmers' Link, Farmers' Union of Wales, Friends of the Earth, Grassroots Action on Food and Farming, International Institute for Environment and Development, National Federation of Women's Institutes, National Sheep Association, New Economics Foundation, Pesticide Action Network UK, Soil Association, Small and Family Farms Alliance and WyeCycle, launched its campaign at a Parliamentary Briefing, hosted by Andrew George MP on the 16th March 2004.

In 2000, a Competition Commission report acknowledged that the biggest supermarkets were bullying their suppliers. Recent mergers and buy-outs have tipped the power balance even further in favour of the retail giants. The Alliance, believes that supermarket power should be regulated by an independent watchdog, supported by a tougher Supermarket Code of Practice that would be imposed on supermarkets.

Despite many reviews that proved the existing Code of Practice is not working the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has failed to take action. However, in May 2006 the OFT announced that it will refer the supply of groceries by retailers in the UK to the Competition Commission (CC) for a market investigation: 'The grocery market - The OFT's reasons for making a reference to the Competition Commission .In its report the OFT recognised that there are issues concerning buyer power and the Code that the CC should address.

Read more about the new Competition Commission Inquiry into the grocery sector in Campaign News

On 1st March 2001, Tony Blair told farmers that,

"the supermarkets have pretty much got an arm-lock on you people at the moment", and promised that it was "...something we have got to sit down with them and work out".

Please click on the logos to the left for information about how supermarkets abuse their power and the devastating impacts on local high streets, farmers, the enivronment and the food we buy.