In late August CAMRA released a statement to the effect that the long-standing National Chairman Nik Antona would be standing down with immediate effect, due to being diagnosed with a serious medical condition. Following a vote by the National Executive over the weekend, Ash Corbett-Collins. who has held the position of Vice-Chairman since November was elected as Nik’s successor.
“I want to thank Nik for all of his support over the last six years together on the National Executive,” says Ash respectfully. “He was also one of the first people I met in CAMRA when I went to my first branch meeting almost a decade ago and he’s been a friend ever since. His knowledge, skills and experience have been invaluable to supporting me in the various roles I’ve had over the years.”
Ash was interviewed in the early days of The Beertonian in 2018, just after he had been elected to the CAMRA National Executive (link here).
“When we last spoke, I’d not long moved from Swadlincote to Birmingham. Since then I’ve gotten married (in 2021) and I’m now in the process of buying my first house in Sutton Coldfield. My wife and I also adopted our dog Vinnie, a Bedlington Terrier crossed with a Lurcher, he now accompanies us on our trips to pubs and brewery taps across the country.”
How have things changed with CAMRA in that time?
“Obviously the last few years CAMRA has faced major challenges, like all membership organisations. The pandemic and lockdowns meant that we couldn’t run our usual festivals and many are still finding their feet. It’s a credit to the volunteers locally that Burton was able to stage the Great British Beer Festival Winter, which has been major boost to our profile and generated a surplus that we can put towards our campaigning activities.
“Another major change is in how we work; the pandemic forced us to quickly adopt a remote/online approach. Of course running meetings online doesn’t have the same social benefits as meeting in a pub but it has allowed us to work faster and more efficiently. Whereas national working groups used to meet quarterly, we now often meet once a month for shorter, more focused sessions.”
What are the main challenges facing the organisation in 2024?
“CAMRA today is facing a number of challenges: while our retention rate remains incredibly high at almost 89% year on year, we aren’t attracting new members at the rate we used to. A lot of this is down to the cost of living crisis, we know that similar organisations are struggling with recruitment as people tighten their belts. That’s why it’s so important to support festivals across the country as they are our main source of recruitment. We’re looking at how we can boost this nationally but at a local level we’re encouraging members to sign up their friends and drinking buddies; people they already know support our aims of protecting and promoting real ale and the Great British pub. If everyone signed up just one friend over the next 12 months we’d double our membership!
“We’re also still seeing an ageing active membership, while we’re eternally grateful to the hard work that volunteers do, we have to be realistic about the fact that we can’t rely on the same people forever. That’s especially true of physically demanding tasks such as the set up and takedown of festival equipment. Many people ask me how we get more young people involved in CAMRA but I think that’s a difficult ask when so many of them simply don’t have the spare time, energy or money when they are starting their careers and families themselves. We need to be encouraging our members who are at the next stage in their life, maybe their kids are becoming independent, their careers are settled or they are recently retired. These members are more likely to have the time and energy to get involved in the Campaign.”
What does the role of National Chairman entail?
“It is still a voluntary role so I’ll be continuing do this alongside my day job, I’m a Bid Manager for a connectivity company, which has taught me the importance of time management and team building, skills that lend themselves to my new role in CAMRA. I’m also involved in my local branch, where I’m the Good Beer Guide, NBSS and Pubs Database Coordinator. I also run the Pub and Club of the Year competitions. It’s a lot to juggle but I have to be smart with prioritising and also be honest and hold my hand up when I don’t have the time to do something. At the end of the day, we’re all volunteers and we respect that people’s family, friends and work come first, but CAMRA is a huge passion of mine and I’m privileged to be able to part of the team stewarding it towards its next fifty years.
“The role of National Chairman is multi-faceted: on paper the primary duty is to lead the National Executive, the twelve national directors elected by our membership at AGM, but it’s also about setting the strategy and vision for the Campaign and working side by side with the Chief Executive, who is responsible for our paid staff, to deliver it. The National Chairman is also expected to be a figurehead for the Campaign and I’ll be talking directly with colleagues across the industry as well as with decision-makers in Government to drive CAMRA’s message.”
Ash is a proud Burtonian, what does he think of the current pub scene in Burton and why does it appear to be bucking the trend of pub and brewery closures?
“My Mum and my Nan both still live in Burton so I’m often visiting, which is always a great excuse to visit the pubs, brewery taps and clubs across the branch. It’s great to see so many thriving and new openings such as The Arches, it’s already on my list for next time I visit. I think Burton benefits from still being known nationally as the Home of Brewing and people come from across the country to visit. There’s also a great community around the pubs locally and events like the Burton Ale Trail have encouraged people to get out and try new ones, and the Burton Ale Trail attracts visitors from as far as Scotland, but we can’t take it for granted.
“The publicans and brewers are still struggling and that’s why CAMRA is calling on the Government to reduce VAT for hospitality businesses, reduce the duty paid on draught beer and reform business rates. These three core asks are vital to safeguarding the sector over the next few years. The new Government is keen to get Britain growing and to do that it needs to support our pubs and clubs. They already contribute £34bn to the economy and provide over a million jobs but with 50 pubs a month closing that is in danger. No matter whether someone is a CAMRA member or not, we’re urging them to contact their local MP and ask them to support our Great British pubs before it’s too late.”
I’ve never understood why CAMRA issues Wetherspoon vouchers. If the campaign is about protecting the British pub why offer an incentive to visit a chain that sells so cheaply that other pubs cannot compete?
“CAMRA is a consumer organisation and we know that over half of Brits already think that the cost of a pint is unaffordable, the CAMRA voucher scheme provides up to £30 off over a calendar year and it can be used in a number of different pub chains to help drinkers make their pint more affordable. Thousands of pubs also choose to offer CAMRA members a discount on their beer simply by showing their membership card.
“I believe it’s important that there is a broad range of pubs that cater to the varying needs of all drinkers, it’s just as important that there are specialist bars serving weird and wonderful beers that excite some drinkers as it is that there are pubs offering affordable beers to those are mindful of the rising cost of a pint. It is also important to remember that the reason so many pubs are closing isn’t competition but because of the rising cost of doing business that we are urging the Government to address.”
How will you measure your success in the role and where do you see CAMRA being in five years?
“For me, success as National Chairman is about ensuring CAMRA is a thriving organisation at every level, that people want to be a member, understand how we are making a difference and are excited to volunteer to be a part of that. In five years, we’ll be coming to the end of this Parliament and I hope to see that our core asks of this Government have been enacted to help support our pubs and breweries. We’re going to continue working with partners across the industry to do that and be backed up by our army of thousands and thousands of volunteers.”
