What on earth is happening to the UK's politicians?
The MPs expenses scandal demonstrated that many of them had a decidedly dodgy moral compass as regards what to claim or not claim. I include those that didn't actually break the rules but who certainly broke the spirit of them, with their judiciously timed 'flip-flopping' on main residence and those who claimed.
I guess that I hoped that such weakness was restricted to them pursuing financial gain, at the taxpayers expense. I thought that at least they would still have some principles. Or at least the intelligence to understand what a globalized economy means.
But no! In recent months and getting louder in recent weeks we have heard politician after politician stand up and berate the leaders of global businesses about 'excess' (pots and kettles come to mind!) and attack people (Hester, for example) regardless of the job they are doing and who they are doing it for.
Exactly what business is it, of any UK politician to stick his or her nose into the running of a privately owned business. This isn't Soviet Russia! These are not state-owned enterprises (which, incidentally, regularly rewarded failure!). These are private businesses, owned by shareholders and institutions and managed by employee executives who, just like all employees have contracts of employment laying out their legal terms and conditions of employment and, controlled by a Board of Directors, that are elected by the owners of the company.
I have spoken here before of the rank hypocrisy of politicians.
None greater than that coming from the Labour front bench, who negotiated Stephen Hester's contract of employment, when they hired him to clean up the mess, that was RBS. A mess to which they and the FSA and Bank of England were also contributors. (Note also, these culprits have kept their gongs!)
I don't expect too much clear water between Labour and the Lib Dems on business as economic illiteracy and ignorance of how businesses work, runs throughout their effectively common 'policy' (if that is the right word for a bunch of ill-thought out and half-baked ideas, developed in a drunken student union bar)
However, surely we would expect Conservative politicians to have an understanding of the damage that is being done to UK PLC. Surely someone understands that when government ministers are involved in pushing an argument that legal contracts should be ignored, this sends the most possibly wrong message?
Where are the Conservatives that have the courage or spine to stand-up and say ENOUGH!
Heavens! The election is likely three years away!
Instead, we have MPs joining the ignorant mob. That is, when they can be torn away from the critically important issue of the name of a beer being sold in the House of Commons. Pygmies is maybe too grand a word for such people.
If politicians think that getting growth in the UK economy is going to come from forcing companies to consider exactly just why the headquarters of their global business is based in such an unfriendly business environment, then they just show how out of touch they really are (bit like during the expenses scandals!)
If politicians think, as Labour's Liam Byrne apparently does, that banks (including privately owned ones) should be forced to loan to business, then there really is little long term hope.
When the lunatics take over the asylum, you can at least expect that they have the experience to know how that place works. This shower of spineless MPs don't even have that!
If you care for the future of the UK (and its economy) tell your MP to grow a backbone and do what is right for the UK and not just for tomorrow's headline!
The MPs expenses scandal demonstrated that many of them had a decidedly dodgy moral compass as regards what to claim or not claim. I include those that didn't actually break the rules but who certainly broke the spirit of them, with their judiciously timed 'flip-flopping' on main residence and those who claimed.
I guess that I hoped that such weakness was restricted to them pursuing financial gain, at the taxpayers expense. I thought that at least they would still have some principles. Or at least the intelligence to understand what a globalized economy means.
But no! In recent months and getting louder in recent weeks we have heard politician after politician stand up and berate the leaders of global businesses about 'excess' (pots and kettles come to mind!) and attack people (Hester, for example) regardless of the job they are doing and who they are doing it for.
Exactly what business is it, of any UK politician to stick his or her nose into the running of a privately owned business. This isn't Soviet Russia! These are not state-owned enterprises (which, incidentally, regularly rewarded failure!). These are private businesses, owned by shareholders and institutions and managed by employee executives who, just like all employees have contracts of employment laying out their legal terms and conditions of employment and, controlled by a Board of Directors, that are elected by the owners of the company.
I have spoken here before of the rank hypocrisy of politicians.
None greater than that coming from the Labour front bench, who negotiated Stephen Hester's contract of employment, when they hired him to clean up the mess, that was RBS. A mess to which they and the FSA and Bank of England were also contributors. (Note also, these culprits have kept their gongs!)
I don't expect too much clear water between Labour and the Lib Dems on business as economic illiteracy and ignorance of how businesses work, runs throughout their effectively common 'policy' (if that is the right word for a bunch of ill-thought out and half-baked ideas, developed in a drunken student union bar)
However, surely we would expect Conservative politicians to have an understanding of the damage that is being done to UK PLC. Surely someone understands that when government ministers are involved in pushing an argument that legal contracts should be ignored, this sends the most possibly wrong message?
Where are the Conservatives that have the courage or spine to stand-up and say ENOUGH!
Heavens! The election is likely three years away!
Instead, we have MPs joining the ignorant mob. That is, when they can be torn away from the critically important issue of the name of a beer being sold in the House of Commons. Pygmies is maybe too grand a word for such people.
If politicians think that getting growth in the UK economy is going to come from forcing companies to consider exactly just why the headquarters of their global business is based in such an unfriendly business environment, then they just show how out of touch they really are (bit like during the expenses scandals!)
If politicians think, as Labour's Liam Byrne apparently does, that banks (including privately owned ones) should be forced to loan to business, then there really is little long term hope.
When the lunatics take over the asylum, you can at least expect that they have the experience to know how that place works. This shower of spineless MPs don't even have that!
If you care for the future of the UK (and its economy) tell your MP to grow a backbone and do what is right for the UK and not just for tomorrow's headline!
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