The latest grocery inquiry will only stifle choice for shoppers and worsen the downturn

It’s cost millions of pounds, taken two years to complete and could yet cost us all a lot of money. And the conclusion? Supermarkets like Asda deliver a good deal for shoppers.

I don’t disagree, but why did we need another exhaustive and extremely costly competition investigation to prove what many of us knew already?

The Association of Convenience Stores, which led the way in calling for the inquiry, has been proved wrong. Good shops, regardless of their size, do well; poor ones don’t.

I obviously welcome the Competition Commission’s attempts to improve local competition for shoppers and improve the relationship between retailers and suppliers. The bottom line is that any changes they make as a result of the inquiry must help us to lower prices and deliver an even better deal for shoppers.

The proposals on a new code for suppliers and an ombudsman to police them could end up costing millions, leading to higher prices, which will hit families hard at a time when they are feeling the pinch.

For me, the most staggering statistic to come out of the two-year investigation is that only one in five people in the UK have an adequate choice of where to buy their groceries each week.

At a time when mortgages are going up, energy bills are rocketing and disposable income is falling, that lack of choice is being brought into sharp focus.

I strongly believe that the lack of competition in the UK is leading to higher prices, poorer quality and inconvenience for millions of people. Ordinary working people are being short-changed, making it even harder to feed and clothe their families.

As it stands, we are prevented from building new stores in towns where there’s huge demand for an Asda. Not surprisingly, shoppers want access to our low prices.

There are lots of hurdles we must jump over before we can build a new store. But why is it, under the present planning system, that when we try to build a supermarket as close to a town centre as possible that doesn’t threaten the existing retailers in that town, it can still be blocked?

Why is it left to local planning officers to apply a crude mathematical equation to assess if a new store is needed?

We welcome the proposed changes to planning. We believe they will allow more competition and prevent any one retailer having a monopoly in a town. Shoppers throughout the UK will also benefit through lower prices, more choice and better quality.

Without these changes, there is a danger that prices will continue to rise, shoppers will continue to miss out and town centres will suffer further decay and lack of investment.

The only solution to the credit crunch we face is to allow more competition, not less. Hopefully now, following the third inquiry in less than 10 years, the legislators will agree.

Not only does the future health of the British economy ride on it, shoppers demand it.

Topics