WHAT’S THE VIEW FROM THE CIU?

Former miner Mick McGlashan, the general secretary of the CIU, has been associated with the organisation for 40 years and was a branch secretary in Durham. He’s been a member of the CIU since his teens and was on the committee of Harden Labour Club in the North East of England at the age of 21. When Kevin Smyth stood down in 2009, Mick grabbed the reins and now hopes he can change the perception of the CIU - and keep it afloat. MATTHEW MOGGRIDGE asks the questions.

1. In your opinion, what is the role of the CIU in the 21st Century?

It is to try and give support to clubs and in respect of legislation, keep members updated; and where negative legislation is concerned, we take it up with Westminster. Clubs are very important for our local communities, they bring people together and without them the world would be a lot worse off.

 

2. Where do you see the CIU in 10 years’ time?

We’ve got to change with the modern times and encourage another generation in; the younger generation. It’s all about getting people to change. We do need to modernise and the CIU has to change because it is stuck in yesteryear and the only way for the CIU to get the grassroots to change is for the CIU to change. It won’t be easy, but it’s got to be done and it will need everyone to be on board and have an input. We’ve got to try and encourage the younger generation.

 

3. Has the CIU’s ‘golden age’ been and gone - or is it yet to happen?

We had our golden age in the 1960s and 1970s but I believe things will go full circle. We’ve got to be ready with new ideas to encourage people to go on to committees and for everybody to realise that we’re not a spent force or finished. When people mention the ‘golden age’, yes, we had it; people went to the club because that was the only outlet open to them. Now there are supermarkets, takeaways, pubs and other attractions. People just don’t come in like they used to because there are so many different scenarios open to them.

 

4. Working men’s clubs and the CIU tend to go hand-inhand and suffer from the same image problems - that of old men and ‘drinking dens’. What is the CIU doing about this image in the light of falling memberships and club closures?

We must change the stereotype at club level. The CIU can be an advisory body but the club is its members and they realise they have to attract new members. We can help by educating them, offering advice on legislation and raising the level of managerial ability of the club secretary.

The CIU is an instrument of advice, but what we tend to find is that the thought of change is the problem and that’s when we hit a brick wall. It’s all about getting through change and that is what I’m trying to do in conjunction with the CIU’s National Executive.

Clubs need the support of their membership. If you’re not getting people through the door there’s no alternative other than to look at the bigger picture.

Over the last 10 years, legislation hasn’t helped the situation in respect of the Licensing Act - there were no positives for us as we don’t want to be open all hours. The Licensing Act was badly thought out. Where the smoking ban is concerned, there was and still is room for debate about whether we will ever return to designated smoking rooms, adequately ventilated.

 

5. What is your view of the role supermarkets are playing in the demise of the pub and club trade?

The Government has got to address this; we want a level playing field. It’s not right if supermarkets are selling alcohol cheaper than water. There should be an on and offtrade tax and the new government, hopefully, will grasp the nettle and look at the whole issue.

 

6. Is binge drinking a ‘club’ problem?

I’ve challenged people to come back to me in respect of our organisation with figures and percentages of binge drinking coming from our clubs. If anyone is serious about combating anti-social drinking habits, they’ve got to be sincere about sorting it out and go to the source of the problem. Go to the police associations where the information is logged. Why doesn’t the Home Secretary get it and then address the issue. We’re all ‘tax this and tax that’. Why, when we’re not at fault?

 

7. A lot of clubs have issues about the cost of Sky Television. What’s your view?

We’ve had a meeting with Sky over the charges and we are working towards a compromise, but at the end of the day, Sky is a commercial venture and charges based on rate assessments is wrong.
We’ve made strong representations in respect of Sky and we’re saying that our clubs are non-profit organisations and should be treated differently. They’ve taken it on board and we’re awaiting the outcome.

 

8. The club trade has always been closely aligned with the licensed trade, an industry that, in one way or another, was penalised by the last government. How do you view the recent change of Government and will the licensed trade and the clubs be better off?

It’s too early to assess yet, but it would be nice to think that they see us as not lumped in with the rest of the licensed trade. I hope they’ll look at our concerns and recognise the unique things we bring in respect of the community. And I hope they’ll look at the supermarket scenario too and ways of encouraging people to go into our clubs.

 

9. Were you surprised to lose the vote on CIU membership cards and how will the organisation go forward after the defeat?

I was a bit surprised as I thought that delegates would look at it as a the saviour of the CIU, but it’s that word ‘compulsory’ that puts people off. Since Blackpool, we’ve been discussing what happened and a strategy for next year. As for getting funds into the CIU, until the National Executive comes up with a firm strategy, I’ll not comment.

 

10. How crucial was it for the CIU to win that vote?

The National Executive views the vote rejection seriously. For the sake of £2 it’s a small price to pay. The CIU exists to represent the clubs and we can’t give up. If we’d won the vote it wouldn’t be a case of being ‘quids in’ but it would have secured the future of the CIU a bit more than now.

Since Blackpool we’ve dissected what happened and we’re looking at the options. We understand the importance of the vote; it was crucial and will have a knock-on effect in terms of cost-cutting and staffing issues at head office. You must understand that the passcard is the CIU’s main source of income.

 

11. Various criticisms have been levelled at the CIU. Some say it’s a dinosaur, others say it’s not open enough and many say it needs to economise. Taking each point oneby- one, what’s your view?

I wouldn’t say we’re dinosaurs and we’ve opened up considerably since I’ve been here. Things HAVE changed and while we might have been secretive in the past, we’re not now. In my nine months in charge, there has been radical change. We’re getting stuff out to the clubs, we’ve got information flowing out now. There are certain aspects that do need to change but they take time and won’t happen overnight, but we will get there in the end. I’m encouraging clubs to write to the CIU in respect of anything they think is worth looking at.

 

12. The relationship between the clubs and the CIU is a two-way street and clubs need to be more involved than at present. Would you agree?

Clubs are not prepared to come forward with constructive stuff. I’m a firm believer in lets have a warts and all discussion. It’s their organisation, let’s have the feedback, let’s bring it on board. Clubs must take an active role. The CIU is an open organisation, there are meetings every three months, branch secretaries and the clubs are invited. There’s plenty of opportunities for them to be involved rather than not going to meetings and just sitting back and criticising. They don’t get involved enough with how the CIU is run. If they’re not happy, we might as well not be here.

We can send out as much information as we like, but when I get to the clubs it’s always ‘what does the CIU do for us?’ A lot of members are not aware of the sporting competitions that we run but they, the members, rely upon the club secretaries for this information, we’re all inter-dependent.

 

13. Poker is very popular in the clubs. Why don’t you have a CIU poker competition?

We have a new leisure secretary and she’s looking at a poker league.

 

14. One club secretary told me recently that he thought there was north/south divide within the club ranks of the CIU and that more northern clubs voted against the membership card than clubs in the south. What’s your view?

There’s no north/south divide. Everybody has the same opportunities. Some branches are more vocal than others. In the North East the clubs are more vocal, that’s the way the club scene is up there; they value their independence.

 

15. It has also been argued that many club members exploit the CIU and only use it when they are in trouble with the committee. True or false?

Exploited? No, we’re here to provide a service and if we didn’t offer arbitration [and other services] what are we here for?

 

16. Some say that having a London headquarters is an unnecessary and expensive luxury. Why not move out of London?

This has been looked at and it’s a fallacy to say you’ll get anywhere cheaper. We’ve leased off the top floor of the building and I can assure you that it’s never been proven that we’ll find anywhere cheaper. We’re close to Westminster and there are facilities here that we couldn’t get anywhere else.

 

17. Some people believe the CIU only has five more years to run. What’s your view?

Our destiny is in the hands of the National Executive. We’ll keep an eye on the economic situation. Our main source of income is the pass card and at Blackpool we tried to replace it. We’re not resting on our laurels. The pass card is our main source of income and we must have something in place to take on board the pass card. People up and down the country must keep the debate going. It’s a big challenge and we want the big debate. It’s all about the future of our organisation and the sustainability of the CIU. What we need is constructive criticism, nothing personal, and we’ll get there. It would be a sad state of affairs if the CIU went to the wall.

 

18. If the younger generation has far greater expectations for socialising both in the evenings and at weekends, will the private members’ club disappear?

It’s up to the clubs to address the imbalance and start getting younger people through their doors. It’s difficult for us to help because all clubs are unique and it depends on the area too. You’ve got to look at the bigger picture and the way lifestyles are changing. Each region handles it in different ways, so in respect of whether club life survives or dies, it depends on the club and the region.

Clubs do need to diversify to encourage people on to the premises and again, it depends on the clubs. Part of the problem is a lack of management skills, but there are courses available and they’re being updated.

I’ve come on board and, at the end of the day; the people that support me are the national executive. We have disagreements on the way forward, but touch wood, we are singing off the same song sheet.

 

19. Why don’t you move the national conference around the country so that more clubs can vote on the issues that affect them?

Where could you get a better venue and reasonably priced accommodation for delegates looking to make a weekend of it? Blackpool is an ideal location.

 

20. Lastly, how do you view the current state of affairs concerning clubs and the CIU and are you optimistic for the future?

It’s a huge challenge and I am optimistic, but it depends on the clubs and how the CIU engages with the breweries and the government. I would like to see a committee set up to look at the values we, the private members’ clubs, bring to people. Lots of politicians don’t realise what we offer the local community. We need Government support and I want to engage the politicians. I get so frustrated when I hear people go on about binge drinking without knowing what value we bring. We discipline ourselves.