Campaign - Hospitality to play the leading role in society
One of the main stories from last weekend has been that all four members of the board of the government's Social Mobility Commission have stood down in protest at the lack of progress towards building a "fairer Britain".Ex-Labour minister Alan Milburn, who chairs the commission, said he had "little hope" the current government could make the "necessary" progress. The government was too focused on Brexit to deal with the issue, he said.Arguably all fair and one of the great discussion points is why government has to show all the leadership. Many today lack confidence in government and yet still expect leadership.The counter argument is that business leaders have maybe the best opportunity ever to show leadership beyond their own businesses and just how each and every business can contribute towards society.This is a serious time and it does need serious people to solve the issues. Politics for whatever reason seems to have lost its way.It is very clear that there are social problems that are developing. Hospitality can play an important role as it sits within almost every community across the country – and it can take a lead.We are all know there are problems. Mental illness is on the rise. The young are in increasing debt and struggling to get onto the housing ladder. There are some very strange things going on within the established institutions. The Wiltshire Police enquiry into Ted Heath seemed strange but the Damian Green scenario seems even stranger, ten years after the event.Things do need to change. There was an interesting talk recently by one of the leading local politicians in Athens who noted that when things were at their worst, it was the people who started to solve their own problems. The local communities organised for litter to be picked up, for new ideas to be implemented.Britain may not be at that stage but it would be no bad thing if the process started now and businesses took the lead within society. Every business however large or small can contribute to those in their community. Restaurants, pubs and hotels can all do small things that make a difference and often it is these small things that build a momentum.We all know that there is work to be done to achieve a fairer Britain and maybe we can say - forget government, the work starts with businesses contributing to society and communities now?