Just how tired people got with the election was brought home to drivers approaching Tunbridge Wells on the A21. On the hill above the road a fan of our standing MP Archie Norman constructed a ‘Hollywood’ style sign reading simply ‘ARCHIE’. Very striking it was too . But then election-fatigue sufferers struck, rearranging the giant plywood letters every few days. It was like a giant game of Countdown. Carol Vorderman would have been proud, even though some of the spelling was a bit iffy.
What the disillusion with the campaign highlighted, to paraphrase an election soundbite, is that people want substance, not spin. It may be a forlorn hope, but perhaps the predicted low poll turnout will get the message through to politicians. In the meantime – he says, clambering on to his soap box – the experience may be a valuable lesson for business, not least the timber trade.
The new multi-million pound efforts to promote timber in the UK must be good news. But they clearly have to be backed up with substance; quality, durable, correctly-specified products. If the few cowboys in the trade undermine timber and sheet materials’ image with substandard or mis-described goods, there’s a risk the marketing campaigns will just be seen as spin.
The TTF‘s Code of Practice will be a major step forward in underpinning industry standards. And the Northern Ireland Timber Trade Association‘s strategy is another a strong move in the right direction. Besides raising funds to promote timber generically, it is specifically pushing the use of dry-graded wood in construction.
Hopefully the simplification of the structural timber standard BS 5268 Part 2 will also help ensure that timber products specified and supplied for building are fit for purpose. Maybe something similar could be developed for MPs.
