The Co-op Bank

[Peter]

number 6 wrote:

> How about the "spiv" party for the tories.that suit?

Fine by me. Don't make the mistake of assuming my derision of the Labour Party indicates a preference for the conservatives.

If I added up all my voting history, it would be in favour of Labour. I have never voted conservative. Over the last few votes I've cast, all have been 'protest' votes for parties who stand no chance of winning, but I have to vote for someone (people died for the right..... yada, yada, yada) and the main parties offer nothing I can get behind.

It's likely to be UKIP for the next few votes, unless something changes dramatically. Not that it really matters, living in a staunch labour area, people vote labour for no other reason than they've always voted labour. Put Ian Brady up as the candidate, with policies of 'steal your money, rape your wife, kill your children and burn your house' and he'd still get in with a landslide.

[Arginald Valleywater]

And people expect Millibland and Balls (up etc) to run our finances?

[Gentleman]

Modern history degree holder and part time coke fiend/gimp Gideon has a more definite history when it comes to not being aware of problems unlike miliband and cos guilt by association...

Don't also forget the Tories in opposition never criticised the then light touch regulation and in fact argued it was to much!

[RoddersUK]

I sincerely hope not.

[RoddersUK]

What I should have added is that as he has a criminal record
he would be precluded from the Brothehood.

[David Johnson]

And of course the Tories are the banking sector in government.

[David Johnson]

Ah yes, Gideon. Wasn't he the chap who went to Dublin in 2006 and praised the "Celtic Tiger" to the hilt and said that it was a lesson for us all on how to run the economy?

[David Johnson]

In the interests of balance, it is worth pointing out that Osborne had over 30 meetings with the Co-op Bank in 2011/12 as Chancellor and was a keen supporter of the Bank taking over the Lloyds branches which was the main cause of their downfall.

Mervyn King at the Bank of England at the time told a fellow bidder for the branches that the Co-op were very much supported by Osborne. Osborne even went to lobby the EU on reducing the capital requirements in order to make life easier for the Co-op.

So what do we know about the major parties' due diligence and overseeing of the financial sector?

The Labour government were crap at monitoring the City. The Tories would have been no better given they were regularly accusing the Labour government of too much regulation of the banking sector. Both Labour and Tories were in favour of the Co-op expanding hugely their branch network.

Who will be better in the future at regulating the banking sector? Given the Tories are largely funded by the financial sector and have just bunged the sector a ?2billion windfall from the sale of the Royal Mail, I wouldn't put your money on the Tories!