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In this age of austerity, Claire Fox warns councils not to get too embroiled in discouraging consumerism at the risk of becoming a municipal Scrooge Under a headline ‘Office Christmas parties scrapped in austerity drive', the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported there would be 25% fewer works' festive parties this year than last. "As grown-ups, the electorate understands that because Britain has been living beyond its means, there will be unpleasant consequences. But we need to be wary of accepting austerity rhetoric..." Accountancy firm KPMG has cancelled a Christmas cocktail party for 1,000 guests. Goldman Sachs is reported to have told employees to celebrate if they wish, but at individuals' personal expense. Staff at BBC Wales have had their usual £25-a-head subsidy for parties withdrawn. Tempting though it is to cry ‘Bah humbug', the recession is obviously a dampener on Christmas cheer. However, it is unclear whether this trend is to save money or not wanting to be seen to indulge in excessive revelry with a backdrop of cuts and unemployment. Certainly, we approach this Christmas with distaste for conspicuous consumption. Instead, being seen to be frugal is becoming fashionable. Maybe it's no bad thing that David Cameron's ‘Age of austerity' phrase is now in vogue. The recent bout of honesty from politicians about the need for cuts may be preferable to their previous Panglossian evasion. As grown-ups, the electorate understands that because Britain has been living beyond its means, there will be unpleasant consequences. But we need to be wary of accepting austerity rhetoric. What does the word ‘austerity' conjure up? One recent MJ article entitled ‘Welcome to the age of austerity' was accompanied by a sepia photograph of a forlorn-looking, 1940s' housewife staring at her ration books. This inadvertently illustrates the problem – accepting the austerity tag too frequently focuses on state-enforced, individual belt-tightening, rather than a serious economic plan which might lead to recovery. Councils need to avoid turning the age of austerity into a cultural embrace of ‘hairshirt Britain'. Accepting the ‘A' word can mean giving a green light to those present-day Scrooges who enthusiastically make a virtue out of a necessity, and seem to relish us all making do with less. This mean-spiritedness is reflected in the trend to explain the economic crisis as ‘payback time' for our erstwhile greedy materialism. The Labour-left group Compass notes approvingly that the recession is working as a corrective against ‘individualistic and materialistic attitudes', suggesting that the downturn might put a halt to frivolous consumers' unnecessary high-street shopping binges. Others argue austerity might encourage a return to shared values and social responsibility. But too often, austerity is seen as a morality lesson rather than a practical solution to financial deficits. Let's remember that long before the credit crunch, public debate was already preoccupied with demonising over-consumption. In November, the Government's waste watchdog WRAP, so beloved of councils, took us all to task for ‘our obsession with owning goods' – apparently ‘large wardrobes of seldom-used clothes' are no longer environmentally acceptable. Instead, WRAP advocates we start renting outfits and accessories. It has called for one-fifth of all household spending to be converted to renting by 2020 to help meet climate change targets. Liz Goodwin, WRAP's chief executive, asked: ‘Why would anyone want to own that many things anyway?' A question which takes some gall from a bureaucrat earning a six-figure salary, running a multimillion-pound quango dedicated to selling us austerity. Unfortunately, because local authorities have swallowed uncritically this mean/green-spirited outlook, they have become the shock troops for eco-austerity. Too willingly, they police and restrain the nation's lifestyles. Chanting the mantra, ‘less is more', councils are closely associated with promoting everything from compulsory slop buckets to smaller baths. Every Christmas, municipal Scrooges admonish us for creating too much waste by excessive use of wrapping paper or causing too much CO2 by ‘extravagant light displays'. It should be a badge of shame that local government is so experienced in lowering material aspirations, whatever the excuse or season. Bah humbug! Claire Fox is director of the Institute of Ideas

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WHITEHALL

Don't be a Scrooge

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