BRADLEY CUMMINGS
Election Manifesto National Executive of the Campaign for Real Ale
Introduction
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Biography
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Revitalisation Project
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Executive Summary and Key Recommendations
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Appendix A - List of Proposals
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Key Issues
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Rebranding CAMRA for the future
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Broadening CAMRA’s scope
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Integrating brewers into the campaign
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Improving education on cask ale and cellaring
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Encouraging diversity
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Modernising our defence of pubs
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Focus on Value, not Price
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Modernising the campaign
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FAQs
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About me
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About this campaign
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About the involvement of brewers
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About conflict of interest
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EVERY CAMRA MEMBER CAN VOTE ONLINE VOTING WILL BE OPEN!
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Introduction I don’t need to write such a detailed manifesto. All I need to do is submit up to 1000 words, plus a 300 word version for publication in What’s Brewing magazine next month. But I’ve got ideas. Loads of ‘em. Big ones, small ones, quick ones and much longer term ones. Plus, CAMRA has more members than the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, the SNP - any political party that doesn’t share membership with trade unions. Those members and those ideas deserve a bit of detail. In this manifesto I hope to persuade you, the CAMRA member, that we need somebody like me on the National Executive to help drive change and get shit done. First I will outline why I want to sit on CAMRA’s National Executive. I’ll look at what it stands for at the moment, what about that needs to change and what it needs to change to. Then I will move on to the Revitalisation Project. The proposals are long overdue, but this is 2018. The proposals don’t go far enough. After that, I’ll list what I think CAMRA’s priorities should be, and how we can get the best out of the enormous potential we have. Finally, I will address some frequently asked questions and give some assurances regarding my position and intentions. Fair warning - I’m not going to tiptoe around anything. I’m not going to be cautious or afraid to disrupt the delicate balance of the internal politics of CAMRA. I’m gonna tell it how it is, and you can either agree with me or vote for someone else. CAMRA has been set in its ways for a long time, but I believe a majority of its membership wants to hit the reset button. I am the reset button. Forget everything you know. It’s time to start again.
CAMRA IS A DEMOCRATIC ORGANISATION - YOU CAN CHANGE IT
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Biography I am Bradley Cummings, co-founder and Managing Director of Tiny Rebel Brewing Co. based in Newport, South Wales. Tiny Rebel has won a number of significant awards, many of which have come from CAMRA. In the first year we were eligible, we took home Gold, Silver and Bronze at the Great Welsh Beer and Cider Festival. We defended our Gold, with a different beer, the following year. One year later, 2015, we were awarded Champion Beer of Britain for Cwtch. We have also won SIBA’s Brewery Business of the Year award and were named UK Brewer of the Year at the International Beer Challenge. All of that in just five years. Individually, I have been named Natwest High Street Entrepreneur (Wales & South West), the Institute of Directors Wales Talent and Innovation award (shared with by business partner and brother-in-law, Gareth Williams), and have been nominated for a major award that I’m not allowed to talk about just yet… Oh, and the reason for all of these awards is building a company from the ground up - from a hobby in a garage, to one of Wales’ 50 fastest growing businesses in under 6 years. Even with all of that, the thing I’m proudest of is putting Wales on the world’s beer map, and a significant part of that has been cask ale. Those who know me will know that I’m not one to shy away from a challenge, and I will strive to make a success of anything I’m involved with. Given that I am part of Britain’s incredibly exciting beer industry, it makes sense for me to contribute to the country’s largest organisation dedicated to beer. Vote for me, or I’ll send the boys ‘round
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Revitalisation Project In short, my analysis of the Revitalisation Project is that it’s a total cop out. It doesn’t go far enough, pays too much deference to the traditionalists and is incredibly overcomplicated. I’d say let’s start again, but it’s taken far too long and suffered too many delays. The Project was a Horse Design Committee, and the proposals are a Camel. It’s the best we’ve got, so let’s work with it. For now.
So over the next couple of pages, I’m going to copy and paste the proposals from the Revitalisation Project and annotate them, so you can see my thoughts on each individual point. By the way, the average age of the Revitalisation Project is nearly 53 years old. Oh, and it has already taken more than 2 and a half years. The changes will already be outdated if and when they come into force.
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Key Issues
1) Rebranding CAMRA for the future Revitalisation Project 2.0 2) Broadening CAMRA’s scope to recognise and support all formats of beer Good Beer is Good Beer, no matter the package 3) Integrating brewers into the Campaign Combining forces and strengthening the industry 4) Improving education on cask ale and cellaring Knowledge from Brew House to Public House 5) Encouraging diversity - in beer styles, design work and membership Building a CAMRA for all. Yes, ALL. 6) Modernising our defence of Pubs Recognise, embrace and adapt to change 7) Focus on Value, not Price Fairer pricing, not simply lower pricing 8) Modernising the Campaign An organisation for the 21st Century.
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Rebranding CAMRA for the future Revitalisation Project 2.0
Let’s face it: CAMRA isn’t very cool. How many of its nearly 200,000 members would end a sentence that starts “I’m a CAMRA member” with “for my sins”? A new generation of beer fans is incredibly passionate, knowledgeable and energetic, but CAMRA has alienated them instead of seeing their efforts as consistent with CAMRA’s aims. Let’s not forget - CAMRA was established to give consumers a CHOICE. But CAMRA has lost that forward thinking, progressive outlook and instead adopted a position of preference. I do not believe for a second that the new generation of drinkers wish to remove real ale from the British beer landscape. On the contrary, I believe they want to get back to the roots of CAMRA and promote informed choice, and protect cask ale as an exciting and important part of our beer scene. I should know - I’m one of them. There has never been a more exciting time to be a beer drinker in Britain. There is a multitude of styles, from best bitters to kettle sours, and an array of dispense methods cask, keg, bottle and can - which can co-exist, and even mutually benefit real ale. But the dogmatic belief that real ale is “the pinnacle of the brewer’s art” and the protection of it is the sole principle on which the organisation is founded is not just a cause for the campaign’s decline, it is simply wrong. CAMRA faces an aging membership and slower recruitment. Only 11% of CAMRA members are under 30. Despite an increase in overall membership of over 300% since the turn of the millenium, the number of active members has hardly increased. And CAMRA is doing very little to change that. Without engaging with newer members and working to bring them in to the fold (that means accepting some differences and celebrating what we have in common), the traditionalist core of CAMRA will further ostracise inactive members and hasten CAMRA’s decline. My Proposals: ●
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We should consult the full membership on the future of CAMRA. Not by way of consultations with branches like the Revitalisation Project, which only achieves a survey of the most engaged members, but in a full survey of the membership. All new members should be given the same opportunity to contribute to this survey at the point of joining, so that CAMRA changes dynamically and in real time. Utilise modern technology (or even the technology of the previous decade) to future proof the campaign- See page titled Modernising the Campaign
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Broadening CAMRA’s scope Good beer is good Beer, no matter the package
The UK beer scene is massively different nowadays. Not since the founding of the organisation, but since the Revitalisation Project started two and a half years ago. I could waste your time setting this up but I’m going to cut to the chase because I know it’s a very common view. CAMRA should champion the best of British beer. CAMRA was established to give the public fair access to quality British beer. We should reassess our definition of quality, because ‘real ale’ is no longer suitable, and has not been for quite some time. Let’s stop fighting the battles of decades ago and regroup on a more pertinent cause Britain’s place as a global powerhouse for beers of every style. For those of you that say that Real Ale is the founding principle of CAMRA - it’s not. The Revitalisation of Ale was the founding principle. I am living proof that ale has been revitalised, and now we need to continue that fight. And we should do so by getting back to our roots as a campaign to revitalise British beer. To those of you with a determination to promote real ale above all else: you are quite right to want to protect real ale - power to you. However, surely the best way to educate and evangelise for cask beer is to welcome those with a differing opinion, have a chat over some beers, find the aspects you agree on and work together on them? Maybe, just maybe, the way to protect real ale forever is to embrace similar causes. Real ale needs drinkers to save it. CAMRA’s current attitude is putting drinkers off real ale. Accepting keg beer, canned beer, carbonated beer, non-bottle conditioned beer and even lager - yes, lager - is not to abandon real ale. It is actually a fundamental part of sharing the joy of real ale if you are so inclined. If British brewed lagers of excellent quality are a stepping stone for prospective members to excellent British beer (including real ale), then we would be neglecting our key values to not embrace the opportunity.. My Proposals: ●
Let’s wipe the slate clean on what CAMRA stands for and refocus on quality rather than dispense, informed by the member survey proposed above, and in accordance with Article 3 (e) of CAMRA’s original Articles of Association (“To promote and foster activities concerned with the consumption of good quality beer.”)
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Integrating brewers into the campaign Combining forces to strengthen the industry
Brewers know beer best. That is undeniable. Brewers also have unrivaled passion and a vested interest in the promotion of beer. Most brewers are consumers in addition to being producers. The two are not mutually exclusive. There is an enormous well of knowledge and experience that is being totally ignored and actively discouraged from taking active part in the Campaign. This needs to change. Instead of splitting the UK beer industry and all working towards different (sometimes competing) goals, we should all be pulling together. I’m not arguing that CAMRA should become an industry body by any means, however it should certainly have an industry arm, an industry committee to inform the rest of the organisation, industry involvement in direction and industry representation at all levels. The relationship between industry and consumer is symbiotic, and this should be reflected within CAMRA. British brewers want only to contribute to and promote a thriving British beer scene. CAMRA should want the same. Let’s combine these incredible forces and direct our energies to the same goals. It’s bizarre we haven’t already. My Proposals: ● ● ●
Introduce industry presence at all levels of CAMRA Allow businesses to represent themselves rather than via a Liaison Officer Consult breweries on the value and direction of CAMRA
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Improving education on cask ale and cellaring Passing knowledge from brewhouse to public house
Poor quality cask ale is the biggest risk to the future of cask ale. The number of breweries in the UK is at an all time high. More breweries means more beer, both good and bad. Of course, the quality of cask beer is affected at every stage of its life. Work needs to be done in the brew house and the public house to ensure its quality. So we should stop promoting brewers of poor quality cask ale (a result of the focus on ‘real ale’ over quality beer), and we should stop supporting pubs serving poor quality ale (a result of our determination to alt the closure of pubs ) Publicans and drinkers need to be better educated on how to spot bad beer or bad cellaring. We should promote the idea of “voting with your feet” - all too often failing pubs are propped up despite selling cheap, inferior real ale, cellaring it poorly and blaming external factors for their demise, and support is given charitably because a pub closing is a tragedy (more on that on the page titled Modernising our Defence of Pubs) We must also promote the idea that quality comes at a cost. In fact, there are several costs along the way. From the use of higher quality and ever less-available ingredients in the brewhouse, to the skill and work that goes into proper cellarmanship - quality comes at a cost. We must also recognise that beer is a luxury item, not an entitlement. An related issue on the subject of discounts and vouchers will be made on the page titled Focus on Value, not Price.
My Proposals: ● ● ●
Educational materials, informed by brewers, should be made freely available CAMRA should promote the concept of “Voting with your Feet” and seek to reward the highest quality beers and pubs Improve education relating to the quality of beer in the pricing debate
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Encouraging diversity Building a CAMRA for all
This is a simple one.
ZERO TOLERANCE Don’t be a dick.
My Proposals: ● ●
Refusal to stock beer with sexist, racist or homophobic/transphobic artwork, with guidelines to be published and distributed to all breweries through local branches Immediate expulsion from Festivals/Meetings in the event of witnessed instances of sexist, racist or homophobic/transphobic behaviour
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Modernising our defence of pubs Recognise, embrace and adapt to change
Some pubs are closing, but others are thriving. This is evidence that there are factors other than the tax burden which contributes to the failure of some pubs. As discussed previously, one of the key problems is the failure to keep up with the market. Pubs are businesses, not public utilities. They live or die by the business decisions of the owners and managers. We should be encouraging them to take business decisions that will keep their businesses afloat and keep them serving quality cask ale for years to come. Instead, we are treating the symptom rather than the cause, mistakenly rewarding failing pubs and making their decline slower and more painful. As discussed previously, we should encourage members to vote with their feet, and encourage publicans to stock real ale as part of a more diverse, economically sensible business model. Our culture has changed. Pubs were once the living room of every community, but that is simply no longer the case. Times have changed, and that’s ok. Change is not necessarily a bad thing. Pubs are now destinations. You go to a pub you enjoy, not the pub nearest to you, and you can sample a wider variety of beers with a wider variety of people who have all come from further away to enjoy the atmosphere and the selection, not because it’s local, but because it’s worth it. CAMRA’s refusal to accept this is leaving it in the past and preventing it from doing any work to protect pubs in the here and now. My Proposals: ● ● ●
CAMRA should encourage publicans to recognise, embrace and adapt to change. CAMRA should give advice based on sound business principles, following the advice of industry members, with a focus on diversity of beer style. Broaden this commitment to all venues with a license to serve alcohol and a special focus on beer, such as (but not limited to) specialist bottle shops and restaurants with a dedicated beer menu.
Focus on Value, not Price Campaigning for fairer pricing
As discussed above, quality comes at a cost.
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CAMRA’s focus should be on the quality of beer. CAMRA members should be among the most well informed drinkers in the country. Unfortunately, the specific focus on real ale leaves them among the least informed. ● ● ●
We should all understand and appreciate the value of good quality beer, and respect the price implications. We must all be willing to pay a fair p rice for beer, and promote the same. We must understand that vouchers and discounts undermine this effort, encouraging a race to the bottom that is the greatest risk to cask beer and pubs.
Discounts and vouchers may be defended by some claiming that they have been an effective method of increasing membership numbers. However, membership is merely a vanity metric and new membership is slowing. These membership benefits do nothing to increase engagement within the campaign. Inactive memberships give added weight to CAMRA’s message which is disproportionately guided by the most vocal traditionalist members. Margins on real ale are already incredibly small. Supporting even smaller margin threatens the success of pubs and breweries. My Proposals: ● ● ●
End the Wetherspoon Vouchers and Member Discount schemes. Educate on the importance of fair cask pricing. Educate on the reasons behind higher keg beer prices.
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Modernising the campaign An organisation for the 21st century
CAMRA has a responsibility to all of its members, to adequately enable them to be active in the campaign. There are some methods, including branch meetings and the online discussion forum Discourse. However, these are not necessarily appropriate, appealing or even known to all. I myself only heard of Discourse last week! (And I actually found it a rather depressing experience) I have encountered members who have suggested that voting be restricted to members who “turn up”, and that the idea of online voting reprehensible. I would like to publicly state my position on this: it’s TOTAL CRAP. Not only will you find it extraordinarily difficult to find a venue in Coventry to host nearly 200,000 people, but most members will find the idea of giving up their weekend, travelling there and taking part to be the last thing they ever want to do. It’s beyond absurd. We must make CAMRA an organisation fit for its membership. Current levels of participation suggest that it is far from that. Postal voting for NE was only approved in 1999, more than half a century after it was allowed in national elections. We can’t remain this far behind modern technology. It’s the 21st Century. Let’s get online properly. CAMRA’s current digital platforms seem to be inspired by the age of CAMRA’s inception. CAMRA, again, has been far too slow on the uptake of modern technology. CAMRA has a duty to make participation easy, accessible and appropriate. My Proposals: ●
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Construct an online platform that will empower all members to vote at all levels and on all issues, and to update CAMRA’s objectives in real time, with personal editable profiles aggregating opinions in real time. Shift all new membership signups to this system so that relevant data is captured and new members are able to contribute immediately. Create more interactive educational tools to be made available online. Plan the first ever 100% virtual CAMRA AGM.
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FAQs About me ●
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Who the fuck is Bradley Cummings? ○ Born 29/07/86 ○ One of 5 siblings raised in Newport, South Wales ○ CAMRA member 515614 ○ Co-founder and Managing Director of Tiny Rebel Brewing Co. What experience do you have? ○ Building a company from 2 employees to over 100 in only 5 years and future proofing a profitable business in a saturated market ○ More than five years as the Director of a company What qualities do you bring to the table? ○ In-depth, lived experience and knowledge of the industry, from brewhouse to public house. ○ Passionate, energetic, strategic thinker, unafraid of disrupting the status quo.
About this campaign ●
Why the National Executive? ○ I believe that changes need to be made at the top. I could be a bystander and criticise the National Executive from the outside, but that won’t get anything done. I want to have an impact and drive change, and get the plans we have been talking about endlessly over the line. When things move too slow, I’ll give it the energy it needs.
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Why now? ○ CAMRA has committed to revitalisation. The time is now, or never. Yet even with that commitment, things are very slow and still not enough. The average age of the Revitalisation Project Steering Committee is nearly 53 years of age.
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Why not just start from scratch? ○ CAMRA has nearly 200,000 members, making it the largest single-issue consumer group in the UK. It has an existing structure that works, but needs work. There is still value in CAMRA but there is work to do to ensure that value is not lost.
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About the involvement of brewers ●
Why do brewers need to get involved? ○ Without brewers, there would be no beer to campaign for. The industry is full of passionate, dedicated people who have made beer their craft and their career. That doesn’t happen without determination and good ideas. Beer would be in a better position if our efforts were integrated. Plus, nobody knows beer better than the brewers. CAMRA saved real ale, and now it’s time for producers of real ale to save CAMRA. ○ Education within the campaign is woefully inadequate and, sometimes, dreadfully inaccurate. This poses a serious risk to our credibility. A greater, more vocal, presence of brewers and industry figures in the campaign will give an immediate boost to the Campaign’s credibility and improve the knowledge of members organically and for the long term. ○ The Revitalisation Project recommends that “CAMRA should develop and maintain appropriate relationships with commercial organisations within the sector.” (pg. 5). Many brewers are already members, are consumers as well as industry professionals, and are just as (if not more) passionate about the British brewing tradition that the rest of the membership.
About conflict of interest ●
Isn’t there a conflict of interest? ○ No. I am a member of CAMRA and a fan of beer first and foremost. In addition, we need more involvement from the producers and to remove the us vs. them attitude between the brewers and the drinkers. It is nonsensical that we are not already working together. ○ I would be able to recuse myself from specific discussions where my roles would constitute a conflict of interest. I do not foresee this being a necessity in the vast majority of the work the National Executive does.
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CAMRA is a consumer organisation. Shouldn’t industry professionals be disallowed? ○ Firstly, they are not under the current structure, so I am well within my rights as a member to stand in this election. Secondly, I believe this would hasten the demise of CAMRA, creating an us vs. them attitude from the Campaign in regards to what is arguably its most passionate, and certainly most knowledgeable segment of its membership.
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If you would like to support me: Vote when the time comes! All CAMRA Members are entitled to vote
You can become a member of CAMRA and help secure its future by signing up today.
#MakeCAMRAGreatAgain #VoteBrad
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