More than 46 million people would be handed the shares in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group under the “people’s bank” plan devised by Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister.
The plans propose that ordinary voters would be able to profit from any increase in the value of their shares once the Treasury has recouped taxpayers’ money used for the bail-out – an offer that could eventually be worth up to £1,000 to householders.
Mr Clegg said that it was “psychologically immensely important” for people to be given a stake in the banks in the wake of the financial crisis. “Their money has been used to the tune of billions and billions and billions to keep the British banking system on a life-support system,” he said.
He added that Britons were now “condemned to take an interest in what happens in our banking system” because of its size relative to the economy. He said that giving them shares represented fair compensation for the financial crisis.
Mr Clegg admitted that the Liberal Democrats had been frustrated by the Conservatives in their attempts to rein in the banks and said that he hoped to give the public shareholders a veto over boardroom pay and other issues. » | Christopher Hope, Rio de Janeiro | Thursday, June 23, 2011
My comment:
This is an excellent idea. The people should get far more out of it than a measly £1,000 though. What Nick Clegg says is absolutely correct. They are the people's banks in all but name. But for the people's (forced) generosity, they'd be out of business by now.
This is Nick Clegg's best idea to date. And how Thatcheresque! The banking fiasco has disenfranchised many, many people. This measure would go a little way to restoring the voters' trust in the system. It is also refreshing to hear a politician suggest that the people be given something back in the form of a stake in the economy. God only knows they've had to fork out enough over the years. They are also having to forfeit a decent return on their savings ever since the collapse of the banking system.
Mr Clegg admitted that the Liberal Democrats had been frustrated by the Conservatives in their attempts to rein in the banks...
This doesn't surprise me one little bit. The Conservatives' raison d'être is to serve the wealthiest in society. The bankers count among the wealthiest in society.
Nick Clegg has just gone up in my estimation. Keep the great ideas coming, Nick! We need plenty more of them to mend this broken system. – © Mark
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