Competition regulator considers proposals from Showmen’s Guild that would also mean more new attractionsLocal authorities will be able to shut down poor and overpriced funfair rides under proposals being considered by the competition watchdog. The CMA complained in December that a 128-year-old set of carnival rules drawn up by the funfair trade body, the Showmen’s Guild of Great Britain, was out of date and stifling competition. But on Tuesday the CMA said the guild had offered to make changes to its rules to address the anti-competitive issues it had raised. The guild rules also prevented members from starting fairs that might compete with existing funfairs, it warned. The CMA estimates that the fairground market is worth £100m in the UK and claimed the existing guild rules could mean funfair goers are subjected to higher prices.

Source: The Guardian August 22, 2017 16:45 UTC