Eric Crampton: Grocery legislation decreases competition, not the reverse

The Government says it wants competition in the supermarket sector. But national and local regulation, including a clause in the Grocery Industry Competition Bill going through Parliament, make it more difficult for other players to enter the market.

There’s a special kind of mental contortion that seems required in politics. A politician has to be able to hold mutually inconsistent beliefs in their head and not notice they don’t really work well together.