Next month, the UK goes to the polls to elect a new government. While its make-up and priorities particularly in relation to trading standards and consumer protection will not be known until after the General Election on 7 May, one thing is certain: trading standards is well positioned to make its case. Publication of the Workforce Survey, the National Trading Standards Conversation, work conducted by the All Party Parliamentary Group Consumer Affairs and Trading Standards, and a research project, led by Professor John Raine at the Institute for Local Government Studies, have all provided data demonstrating the need for an appropriately resourced and structured trading standards service. These efforts combined with the Consumer Rights Bill, which is on its way to becoming an act drive home the importance of enforcement as it relates to consumer protection, and the role that trading standards plays in it.