Bullied banks

The following is from a report in The Times on Darling's pressure on the nationalised (therefore bankrupt) banks to pass on the ludicrous interest rate cut of 1.5 per cent: A host of lenders cut mortgages after bank executives were told by Alistair Darling that taxpayers expected them to fall into line with the Bank of England’s one and a half percentage point reduction. But two of the biggest lenders, HSBC and Barclays, are defying the Chancellor’s demands, while others say that they will claw back the cost of implementing any cuts. Barclays and HSBC, both of which rejected money from this so sly government, are thus already shown to be the last independent High Street banks operating in the UK. Just completed as I type was a Radio 4 discussion with Vince Cable, the Lib/dumbs Finance spokesman, on zero interest rates and reduced taxes all carried on as if Government revenues are likely to continue as earlier in spite of all the ridiculous lending and bail-outs and collapsing private businesses and jobs. The one third reduction of interest rates was a belated attempt to solve the housing crisis which should have been undertaken months ago before throwing billions at clearly broke banks. Now that money has disappeared, never again to re-appear, the Government is pointlessly turning to the housing crisis which has developed too far to be salvaged while businesses collapse, jobs and the tax base vanish which should today be their prime concern. Gordon Brown has no spare sails in his locker and the present set have been shredded to bits by the storm force winds. The broken Britain he has created is a still manned hulk adrift in mid-ocean before an oncoming hurricane of enormous proportions. As usual the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, which apparently drives all political debate in Britain has its collective head firmly stuck where the light of reality never appears.