The UK media reaction to ‘toastergate’ is hysterical and illogical
From 1 March 2016 (we’re migrating the best of our blog from coolproducts.eu)
Some Brits love to hate the EU, especially when the bureaucrats are going after things like kettles or toasters. Last week was no exception, when old news resurfaced that one day the EU may gently show the door to the worst-performing kitchen equipment.
There are no current EU rules for toasters and there was no real development. But that didn’t stop the The Sun and others going into overdrive for a story based on a tweet from a Ukip MEP suffering from limp toast and a logic gap.
The irony is that if the EU was allowed to get on with its work, everyone would have crisp toast every time. It was all a merry dig at the EU, but the fallout is more serious.
Before toastergate there was ovengate, hairdryergate and vacuumgate. This now-typical UK press reaction to sensible and sensitive EU product rules is a textbook case of cutting off our nose to spite our face.
Regardless of whether we stay in or leave the EU, every home is now certain to benefit from an average energy bill cut of more than £350 each year from 2020 thanks to better appliances driven by EU minimum performance standards. They help cut energy reliance on the likes of Vladimir Putin and push our firms to create next generation products sold around the world, according to a recent study.
Research from the BBC shows that better appliances are at the centre of a 10% drop in UK energy use in the face of a growing economy. Last year the National Grid acknowledged that year after year, they are helping to keep the lights on, and it’s a similar picture in Australia.
The European rules carefully guard against disruption to both consumers and businesses, so much so that they take years to craft, too many years in our view. So what’s not to like? That’s what the rest of Europe thinks as they look on at our media reports with bemused wonder.
The vacuumgate debacle is a great example of how we are punching ourselves in the belly for a laugh. Years ago, the EU decided to cap the power of vacuum cleaners because manufacturers had got themselves into a mad arms race, producing ever more energy-intensive machines with precious little bearing on performance.
Incredibly, vacuums from the 1960s were doing a better job for less power than their modern counterparts, according to a Telegraph story from 2010 which, even more incredibly, actually praises Brussels. That didn’t stop the Telegraph letting rip, along with the rest of the press, when the ban came in four years later.
After the dust had settled, evidence from market data specialists GfK suggested that just a year after the rules came into force, firms were competing to see who could market the most efficient product. That means year after year, you will be getting more bang for your buck.
The public actually want this kind of action. A survey from the Women’s Institute suggests that nine out of 10 British consumers like energy efficiency measures because they help them save money. Pollsters in Europe found that the same proportion of Europeans want their governments to do more on the issue.
Behind the scenes, despite the bullets whizzing overhead, the British government is quietly crawling forward, voting in favour of most of these policies because they make so much sense. They are spurred on by research (see p104) from the environment department showing that for every £1 they spend on such “red tape”, Brits and our businesses benefit from £3.8 in lower energy bills. Just like EU rules cutting roaming charges, product policies are a practical example of how Europe is making life easier for us all and should be something we get behind.
So-called ecodesign isn’t perfect. We green groups and our friends in the consumer associations regularly criticise them. But this pales next to the hysteria from all shades of the UK press, a reaction that is posing a serious risking of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
