Memberships v Members Bonds

Same Old, Same Old best sums up the Government, Public and Business approach to the relaxing of what the UK called Lockdown. I say it that way as I don’t think we had anything beyond strict Social Distancing Guidelines compared to countries like Spain, New Zealand, Romania …..

Happy to discuss that any day of the week, but for now my focus is on the distinct lack of creativity, imagination and ‘guts’ being demonstrated as all talk of a “New Normal” is discarded in the rush to get commuters back on public transport, workers back into the office, cars back on the roads, bums back on pub and restaurant seats.

The seed for this post, and the specific subject of memberships, is a conversation with a mate who is far more cultural than I am and whose wife works in the world of theatre, one of the hardest hit sectors.

The £1.5bn “lifeline” pledged by Boris (which may or may not be provided) will go a long way to funding the sector, and while the sector has been creative – as you would imagine – in bringing the arts into our homes, there is little scope to change the delivery of their product: a stage and an audience both populated by live people is a rudimentary requirement.

Sands and I have a number of memberships: we are both members at Warwickshire County Cricket, and both members of the National Trust and the Town Hall Symphony Hall in Birmingham. I am a member of Yorkshire County Cricket and a season ticket holder at Manchester United.

We have had a number of live events re-arranged to next year (we have opted to accept this and not request refunds), and we are slowly getting refunds or credits for Cricket Matches we had planned for the summer.

Manchester United will discount the games from this current season that we weren’t able to attend off the cost of membership next season, but we await of course what that will entail exactly.

Warwickshire are set to announce members options for this year and I suspect that Yorkshire will do the same soon. Personally I wont be comfortable going to any live cricket this year, but am happy to transfer this years memberships into next year, which I assume will be a option.

All very reasonable, all very predictable, all very …. boring really.

The thing with membership is that on the whole it is annual, and very “you and them” focussed. “You” pay a fee and in return get a plastic membership card, a pen/keyring/bottle opener (honestly at 50+ I not only have enough of these but am more than capable of buying my own), discount of products that I am really unlikely to want or need, and off “them” I get to watch something.

Rinse and Repeat year after year. Has been the same as long as I can remember, although as a small child the free gift did create some enthusiasm.

What I would have liked to see are Government Guaranteed COVID-19 Membership Bonds. Let me pay £1,000, £2,500, £5,000 or more for a Membership Bond. Yes I get to watch what is on offer, and you can throw in a discount on a Meat Pie or Warm Wine if you want, but how about a small annual return (which I can defer to help your cash flow) and a guarantee that at the end of a fixed period I can get my returns paid and cash in my bond – or renew and pass on to family as required. This would provide “them” with a significant cash injection, and known period to do something with it that would cover costs and generate income. The Government would not be increasing it’s debt (something they are good at) but would be providing support via the Guarantee.

OK I am not a financial expert, but my point is that in the paragraph above there is a germ of an idea, and more creativity that has been shown by any of “them” to date.