- Written by: Michael Kill, NTIA, CEO
- Full Nightlife Article Newsletter series.
In cities across the UK and beyond, the night time economy breathes life into our culture and communities. Hospitality, events, entertainment, music, nightlife, they all form the soul of a city after dark. They are vital contributors to the economy and they employ millions of people. Yet despite this collective value, the sectors that make up the night time economy remain unable to act as a unified force. We are fragmented, and often working against ourselves – and that division is exactly where government finds weakness and opportunity.
On a recent visit to Ottawa, Canada, a chance meeting with some of the key trade organisations and advocacy groups made one thing clear, the problem isn’t unique to the UK. The same frustrations exist across borders. Despite different landscapes, we share consistent challenges around collective advocacy, and a struggle to simply come together with a mutual cause. There too, the ambition to unify is often overshadowed by the politics of positioning, personal agendas, and fear of disruption. The same issues of ego, access, and fractured influence echo loudly, confirming that this is a global weakness in our night time industries, not just a local one.
Everyone wants to lead. Everyone wants to be the first to speak, the first to organise, the first to be seen doing something. The result is multiple voices all talking at once, each with different messages, each with their own agenda. Associations, campaign groups, trade bodies, venue owners, promoters, even suppliers, all believing they have the stronger network, the better contacts or the bigger following. It becomes a hierarchy of influence rather than a collaboration of purpose. The phrase we hear often is we’re doing something already, or we’ve got this covered, or they didn’t consult us. The competition for attention and credibility is often louder than the calls for change.
And behind the scenes, there’s another issue, quieter, but no less damaging. The complicated relationships between parts of the trade and government often mean that some voices in the sector are unwilling to challenge or disrupt. They’ve worked hard for years to get close to certain departments or decision-makers, and they fear that speaking too strongly or pushing too hard might cost them that access. So they play it safe. They soften the message. Sometimes they even sell out the urgency of the cause for the peace of a long-term relationship. It’s not always intentional, but the result is the same. The industry’s leverage is diluted, the message is weakened, and the fight becomes fragmented. What’s presented as progress is often just preservation.
At the same time, there’s a deep undercurrent of self-preservation running through the whole sector. And to be fair, it’s understandable. These industries operate on tight margins. One bad month, one licence issue, one shift in policy can be the difference between survival and closure. When you’re under pressure, you protect your business, your brand, your people. But what we’ve created is a landscape where everyone is guarding their patch while the foundations underneath us all remain shaky. In truth, the strength of the whole sector relies on the success of each part of it. We rise and fall together, but rarely act like it.
This inability to come together plays straight into the hands of government. When policymakers see disunity, they wait. Or they listen selectively. Or they say nothing and do even less. If five different groups are pushing five different strategies, no one gets anywhere. And the frustration builds. We blame government for inaction, but we fail to look at the cracks in our own approach. Division creates delay. Delay creates damage. It’s the same pattern time and time again.
And it’s not just in crisis where this hurts us. Whether it’s planning regulations, transport strategy, licensing reform, public safety, late night policing or cultural investment , we need long-term, joined-up representation. Not short bursts of noise from different corners. We need common ground and shared priorities. Right now, we don’t have that. We have great people doing great things in silos. And it’s simply not enough.
But there are small signs of change. Over the course of this year, we’ve worked towards simplifying a more collective group of UK-wide trade organisations. It’s not based on who’s bigger or more visible, but built around shared interest and knowledge, and more importantly, on trust. It’s about making sure we’re all aware of what each other is doing, avoiding duplication, sharing political thinking, and aligning on positioning where possible. No one voice louder than the rest, no seat at the table more important than another. It may just be the start of something bigger, not a formalised body, but a genuine coming together. One that puts the industry before ego and starts laying the groundwork for a more coordinated future.
At some point, the industry has to come first. Not the association, not the founder, not the brand. The industry. That means being willing to follow, not just lead. It means letting go of ego. It means choosing collective impact over individual credit. We can’t keep saying the same things at the same tables with different logos. We need to walk in together. Speak together. Move together. Until then, we will keep being outmanoeuvred and overlooked.
For a sector that thrives on collaboration, creativity and community, our inability to unify when it matters most is not just disappointing, it’s dangerous. The challenges we face are real, but so is the potential. If we want to be taken seriously, we have to start taking each other seriously. The longer we stay divided, the longer we stay vulnerable.
The time to come together was yesterday. The next best time is now.
