It is fair
to say that the media clout of the anti-renewal group far outweighs its
relevance to the majority of traders but there is a cost associated with their “celebrity”
push and unfortunately the public is now confused.
One of our
traders complained this morning that he has had multiple questions from customers this weekend
about how long the market is going to be closed during the renewal. One aspect
of the anti-renewal group’s dialogue is their exaggeration and so terminology
like “They are going to cause massive disruption and destroy our market” weigh
heavily on the public psyche. No matter how you look at it, the negative
language has portrayed the market in a negative way and that is difficult to correct (Note to
management: at the right time a strong “We are trading” message would be
great.)
Of course many called Saturday’s
protest "a fizzer" with a crowd of about 300-400 (see our photo) at 11:30
gradually dwindling as passers-by realised that this wasn’t entertainment but
just a political protest. The sad thing is that good money will now have to be
spent to correct misinformation although traders can probably help by informing
their customers that trade will be ongoing through renewal.