Origin
The phrase originated with a campaign by the Consumers' Association in 1998. It was aimed at lowering car prices in Britain; at the time, despite legislation outlawing the practice, British car prices were significantly higher than the EU average.
In 1999, the Consumers' Association hired a stand at the British International Motor Show, only revealing on press day its true purpose in doing so—to highlight high British car prices. The organizers of the show, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, decided not to fan the media flames by ejecting the Consumers' Association.
By this point, the phrase had already taken hold in the mass media, and it became a term in frequent use to describe anything that was wrong with Britain. It also proved to be one of the elements leading to a tipping point in the harmonisation of car prices within the EU. The campaign was devised by UK advertising agency Claydon Heeley, who are known for such "guerrilla marketing" work.
Read more about this topic: Rip-off Britain
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