The banking crisis

The banking crisis was predicted by economists, including Vince Cable MP, two years and more before it happened. The government did nothing.

When Northern Rock collapsed the government dithered for five months while the Lib Dems called for the bank to be nationalised.

Refusing to regulate the banking industry, the government allowed the problems that had caused the collapse of Northern Rock to continue to fester, leading to the collapse of the banking industry at the end of 2008. Some eighteen months later, the legacy for that failure is becoming clearer. The banks have been bailedo out to the tune of around 850 billion pounds, money all of us taxpayers will carry as a debt into our long term future. Our children and grandchildren will be paying for this government's mistakes.

The Government are simultaneously keen to pretend that their actions had nothing to do with causing the crisis which they say was purely a 'global' phenomenon. at the same time they like to claim that their actions are saving the world. Either we have influence or we do not.

While countries across the EU and the USA are legislating to oblige banks to separate high street banking from the risky trading practices that caused the banking crisis, the Labour government refuses to act. It prefers to carry on baiing out the banks, print more and more money, and watch as bankers trouser billions in bonuses.

At a time when logic would suggest that this nation needs to move away from an over-reliance on banking the Government carries on as if there were no banking crisis.

Government lends Kraft money to sack UK workers

One of the most sordid episodes this year involves the sellout of Cadbury. While professing to be doing all it could to protect British jobs, the government allowed Royal Bank of Scotland [ a bank 85% owned by the taxpayer] to lend Kraft the money it needed to takeover Cadbury. Within days of the Kraft takeover 400 workers aat Cadbury lost their jobs. Having dismantled the public interest legislation that the UK used to have to protect significant industry in the UK, back in 2002, the Labour government was happy to lend a foreign company the money to takeover a British company and sack UK employees.

In York we all knew what would happen. Kraft bought Terry's and very quickly closed the factory and moved production to Poland.

Links

Cost of UK bank bailout

Clegg attacks Brown over funding Cadbury takeover

Published and promoted by Christian Vassie, 10 Blake Court, Wheldrake, York YO19 6BT