Bozza Attacks Cameron’s Failure of Leadership over RBS Chief’s Bonus
Posted: January 27, 2012 Filed under: Politics | Tags: BBC, Boris Johnson, David Cameron, Ed Miliband, Gosbank, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Soviet Union, Stephen Hester Leave a comment »
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David Cameron is again facing pressure to explain how the state controlled RBS, of which the tax payer is the majority share holder, can pay its CEO Stephen Hester a whopping £963 000 bonus on top of his £1.2 million salary. London Mayor Boris Johnson and Labour Leader Ed Miliband both called the bonus’ “bewildering.”
In an interview with the BBC Boris said, ”I find it absolutely bewildering because RBS occupies the same status in the economy as Gosbank did in the Soviet Union: it’s a state-owned bank,” he told the BBC. This is not a free-booting, private sector, risk-taking enterprise, this is a state-owned concern that taxpayers have had to step in and bail out. The idea that this is not in the control of the government seems to me to be far-fetched. Stephen Hester is an able man probably doing a difficult job and his contract must have been drawn up, I guess, when he was appointed in 2008 under Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown. I do not know what they were thinking of when they drew it up that way, but it certainly seems to me to be right that the government should step in and sort it out.”
When asked what he would have done as prime minister, he said: “I think a state-owned bank should be run on public sector lines.”
Ed Miliband said, “This is a terrible failure of leadership by the prime minister. For months he’s been promising action against excessive bonuses, excessive pay, and now he’s nodded through a million pound bonus for Stephen Hester. He’s also been lecturing shareholders about how they need to show they can get a grip on executive pay. He’s the biggest shareholder in RBS. He owns 83% of it through the biggest government, and yet he has let this bonus happen. He’s got to come and explain why he’s done this.”
Related articles
- Johnson attacks ‘bewildering’ bonus for RBS chief (independent.co.uk)
- Stephen Hester: RBS boss ‘should turn down his £1m bonus’ says Jeremy Browne (dailymail.co.uk)
- National News: Miliband accuses PM over RBS bonus (coventrytelegraph.net)
- You: Anger grows over RBS chief’s £900,000 bonus (guardian.co.uk)
- Britain braced for weekend cold and snow (thetimes.co.uk)
UK One Step From Recession, Government Out Of Excuses
Posted: January 25, 2012 Filed under: Politics | Tags: Economy of the United Kingdom, Ed Miliband, George Osborne, Labour, Office for National Statistics, Prime minister's questions 1 Comment »
The Office of National Statistics has confirmed that the UK economy shrank last quarter sparking fears of the much talked about double-dip recession. At prime minister’s questions in the Commons, Labour leader Ed Miliband said the coalition was out of “excuses” for the poor performance.
Excuses for failing economic policy does seem to be becoming the norm of this government, so far we have had, the weather, the royal wedding, not the royal wedding, fuel prices, food prices and the euro. Even those who support the government’s austerity agenda are worried that more needs to be done to stimulate growth. Earlier this week the National Audit Office cast grave doubts about the government’s Work Programme to stimulate the jobs market, and our national debt passed an eye-watering £1 trillion.
It is interesting to note that by the government’s own figures the UK is now borrowing more than it would have been had George Osbourne followed Labour’s debt reduction plan. The IMF’s chief economist Olivier Blanchard has called on the UK to consider slowing the speed of cuts in the short-term to avoid strangling the recovery. If indeed it could be called a recovery, under Tory rule the economy has only recovered 45% of what it lost during the recession.
How much more damage needs to be done to ordinary peoples’ lives before this arrogant, smug bunch of millionaires wake up!
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Benefit Cap, Is IDS Right?
Posted: January 23, 2012 Filed under: Politics | Tags: Housing Benefit, Tory, Welfare Leave a comment »
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Should non-working families earn more than working ones? Is it reasonable that families on benefit can live in houses that working people can only dream of? These might seem obvious questions but this is the basis behind the government’s proposed £26,000 cap on benefits which will mean no family can claim more than £500-a-week in welfare, the equivalent amount of a £35,000 salary after tax. Iain Duncan Smith thinks the answer is no, it’s not reasonable and the public seem to agree. For all the problems this government is causing people, when it comes to a benefit cap it seems impossible to find anybody who’s against it and it’s not hard to see why.
In my street alone are two six-bedroom houses and one eight bedroom one. I couldn’t afford to live in any of them despite working full-time as a teacher. All three are occupied by families with no-one working. I doubt that my street is unique.
It seems to me that we need to look fundamentally at the way we pay benefits. Benefit calculations bear no resemblance to the way wages are paid. Working people don’t get a pay raise because they have another child or move to a larger house why should non-working people?
It is strange for The Chimera Papers to support a Tory policy but on this occasion we do!
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“Labour Set For Certain Defeat At Election,” Miliband Strikes Back
Posted: January 17, 2012 Filed under: Politics | Tags: Ed Miliband, Harriet Harman, Labour, labour leader, Labour Party, Len McCluskey, Public sector Leave a comment »
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Ed Miliband has struck back at Unite Leader Len McLuskey’s after he criticised the Labour Leader for accepting the coalition’s public sector pay freezes.
McCluskey said the move was a “victory for discredited Blairism” and warned the Labour leader that he risked putting the party leadership on a collision course with its core supporters.
In sharply worded riposte Ed Miliband said, “Len McCluskey is entitled to his views but he is wrong. I am changing the Labour Party so we can deliver fairness even when there is less money around and that requires tough decisions. It requires a tough decision to put the priority on jobs ahead of public sector pay. It also requires us to say we do believe the government is going too far, too fast with their cuts but we are not going to make specific promises to reverse those cuts unless we are absolutely sure that we know where the money is coming from. That is right, it is responsible and it is the way we are going to proceed.”
Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman said Labour’s hand have been forced by the coalition’s austerity measures: “When we left government the economy was beginning to grow and unemployment was beginning to fall but because they’ve squeezed the life out of the economy with their austerity cuts they are now in a position of having to continue with that public sector pay freeze. But what we don’t agree with is their proposals on regional pay bargaining, we don’t agree with their cuts in tax credit and we think they should make sure they do it as fairly as possible.”
Gove Faces Legal Challenge From Primary School
Posted: January 9, 2012 Filed under: Politics | Tags: Academy, Department for Education, London Borough of Haringey, Michael Gove, Ofsted, Primary school, Secretary of State for Education Leave a comment »
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Education Secretary Michael Gove is a man with a stated mission: to respect the wishes of teachers and parents, to get central away from central government and into the hands of local people. Of course, if you are a teacher or parent you probably won’t believe this. Governors at Downhills Primary School, Haringey certainly don’t. Just days after Gove branded those who opposed his academies programme, “ideologues,” who were, “happy with failure,” lawyers acting on behalf of Downhills’ governing body have issued a Statement of Claim to the Department for Education (DfE) over what it considers the illegal attempt to force the school into academy status. Gove must reply within the next two weeks or face a judicial review.
Teachers, governors and over 90% of parents who returned a school questionnaire said they where happy with their child’s experience at the school are against the move. Despite this Gove is using his powers to force the school into academy status.
Roger Sahota, a Downhills governor told The Observer ”We are saying the secretary of state has acted unlawfully by forcing Downhills to become an academy and that action is premature in advance of the next Ofsted inspection.”
The schools Headteacher, Leslie Church added: ”I am neither for nor against academies. I think it is right for communities to decide what school they have. Therefore, if the drive to change all schools to academy status is something the government wishes to pursue, I think that is something that should be put before the electorate as a manifesto. Outstanding schools are being encouraged into academy status, schools at the bottom end are being forced to become academies, so that leaves schools in the middle and basically my understanding is the financial viability of local authorities is left in the balance.”
Government Report: F – Must Try Harder
Posted: January 6, 2012 Filed under: Politics | Tags: Danny Alexander, Department for Education, Government, NASUWT, National Union of Teachers, NUT, Trade union, Unite Union Leave a comment »
The two largest teachers’ unions, the NUT and the NASUWT have joined jointed Unite in rejecting the government’s latest offer on pension reform.
Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, was particularly critical about the way the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, trumpeted draft agreements with most unions covering most staff in the civil service, NHS, local government and education last month.
“The process the Department for Education used to seek to reach agreement by its imposed deadline of 20 December was a debacle,” Keates said.
“Unions were pressurised and threatened to sign up to a document when a final draft was not even available, and even when a document was produced as the final meeting was breaking up, overnight the wording was changed unilaterally by the department.”
The move opens up the very distinct possibility of another round of industrial action with both unions demanding further negotiations.
The government played down the result with its now typical dismissive arrogance: “It’s disappointing the NUT and NASUWT restated their position on last month’s deal. We’ve already addressed many of teachers’ concerns, particularly around early retirement. We are now ready to have detailed, technical discussions to reach a final settlement – but have made clear that the broad deal on the table is as good as it gets,” a spokesman said, adding, in a feeble attempt to continue it’s failing divide and conquer tactic, ”Other unions have given a far more positive response and will be consulting with their executives later this month.”
Unite Rejects Government’s Final Pension Offer
Posted: January 5, 2012 Filed under: Politics | Tags: National Health Service, NHS, Public sector, Trade union, Unite Union Leave a comment »
The health union Unite has raised the possibility of further strikes by rejecting the government’s “politically motivated” final offer of pensions. Unite’s general secretary Len McCluskey: ”The government’s attacks on public sector pensions are politically motivated, as part of an overall design to privatise the NHS, cut public services, break-up the national pay agreements, and disrupt legitimate trade union activities and organisation.
“Unite believes it is important to continue a campaign to maintain a fair and equitable system of public sector pensions and calls on ministers to enter into real, genuine and meaningful negotiations on the future of NHS pensions and public sector pensions.”
The move by Britain’s second largest union, which represents over 100,000 health workers, comes as the British Medical Association (BMA) prepare to survey 130,000 doctors and medical students over a possible ballot.
The government’s Divide and Conquer tactics over pensions seems to be just one more failing policy.
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Gove Accuses Schools Of Being, “Happy With Failure”
Posted: January 4, 2012 Filed under: Politics | Tags: Academies Act 2010, Academy, England, Michael Gove, National Union of Teachers Leave a comment »
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Education Secretary Michael Gove has stepped up the Tory’s attack on teachers and state schools today by accusing anybody who opposes his academies programme of being, “enemies of promise” who are, “happy with failure”.
The government wants all schools to become academies saying that it will cut bureaucracy, free-up Head Teachers and improve standards. England’s worst performing 200 schools are set to be forced into academy status under powers granted the government in The Academies Act 2010.
At a speech at a London academy Mr Gove said: “The same ideologues who are happy with failure – the enemies of promise – also say you can’t get the same results in the inner cities as the leafy suburbs so it’s wrong to stigmatise these schools.
“Let’s be clear what these people mean. Let’s hold their prejudices up to the light. What are they saying?
“If you’re poor, if you’re Turkish, if you’re Somali, then we don’t expect you to succeed. You will always be second class and it’s no surprise your schools are second class.
“I utterly reject that attitude.”
Union Response
One union leader has described his comments as insult to teachers.
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Another, Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: “The assertion that the opponents of the government’s forced academy programme are ‘happy with failure’ is an insult to all the hard-working and dedicated teachers, school leaders, support staff and governors in our schools.
“If academy status brought the benefits claimed by the government why have so few of England’s schools opted to convert?
“The forced academy programme is about bullying schools into academy status against the wishes of school communities and their local authorities who are best placed to judge what support any particular school may need, not an external sponsor with an eye to the future profits to be made out of the government’s programme of privatising England’s schools.”
While Brian Lightman, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “It is not the act of academy conversion which raises standards in schools and ASCL strongly refutes the suggestion that all those who have not opted for conversion are ‘ideologues who are happy with failure’.
“There are many highly successful schools working with their local authority and partner schools; they are not the “enemies of promise” but professionals dedicated to improving the lives of young people.
“The keys to school improvement are excellent teaching and leadership and a relentless determination to stamp out failure.”
Related articles
- Gove broadside at academies critics (mirror.co.uk)
- National News: Gove broadside at academies critics (coventrytelegraph.net)
- Letters: Stop this bullying over academy status (guardian.co.uk)
Labour to Change Attitude on Benefit Scrongers
Posted: January 3, 2012 Filed under: Politics | Tags: Benefits, Labour, Labour Party, Liam Byrne, Politics, Unemployment, Welfare state, William Beveridge Leave a comment »
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Shadow cabinet minster Liam Bryne says it’s time for the Labour Party to become radical reformers on the warfare state. In an article for the Guardian to mark the 70th anniversary of the Beveridge report he points out that Beveridge considered “‘Idleness’ every bit as insidious as disease or squalor.”
The shadow work and pensions secretary says it is time for his party to think again about the welfare state, adding “one more heave behind our old agenda won’t do”.
Bryne goes on further to say ”He [Beveridge] would have worried about the ways that his system had skewed social behaviour because he intended benefits to help people who had their earning power interrupted because of illness, industrial injury or the capriciousness of the trade cycle. He never foresaw unearned support as desirable”.
This change in policy will no doubt cause issues with the extreme left of the party but to my mind is long overdue. It can’t be right that unemployed families can live in accommodation that the employed can only dream of. That creates a situation where the unemployed cannot afford to work because they couldn’t pay for their accommodation; not to mention the resentment from working people.
Maybe it’s time to think about how we pay benefits. Maybe payment of benefits should be more akin to payment of wages. Employed people don’t get pay rises because they have more children, their pay doesn’t increase if they choose to move to a bigger better house, regardless of how inappropriate their existing on is.
What would the be the result of the unemployed having their total benefits capped at (for example) 70% of the net income of a person working a full-time job on minimum wage?
2012 A Bright Year for Ed?
Posted: January 2, 2012 Filed under: Politics | Tags: 2012, Ed Miliband, Labour Party Leave a comment »
Big Ben at New Year 2012. Photo by E Fisher-Cook
Lets look ahead to 2012. The Tory party is in full nationalist swing, the Libs Dems as divided and deeply unpopular. The economy is still flat-lining with the coalition’s plans strangling off growth and leading us ever forward to a that double-dip the Chancellor told us his austerity would avoid. So confident is Cameron of his right to rule the Tory’s have made the first moves to privatising the NHS and even pandered to the party’s euro-sceptics at the expense of his coalition partners and yet The Tories have a six-point lead in the polls. Ed Miliband seems to be leading the party into a monumental decline in support. Never has a Labour leader had it so good.
With that in mind my predictions for 2012:
- Boris Johnson will defeat Ken Livingstone in the fight for Mayor of London.
- Interest rates will remain below 1%.
- The economy will continue flatline and may dip into contraction.
- The Con Dems will blame the Queen’s Jubilee and the Olympics for the lack of growth.
- Inflation will remain above raises in pay.
- Bankers and executives will receive massive bonuses.
- The coalition will survive although the Tory’s will kick the Lib Dems over an increasingly large number of issues.
As you can see I predict that Ed will totally fail to capitalise on the any of this.
Unlike the Tories Labour is very reluctant to stab a failing leader in the back and so Ed will go one but this will be his crunch year. This time next year things will be worst and Ed must have tapped into the ground swell of unhappiness.
