Time for another admission. Brown's Bungled Bank Job

Gordon Brown has today, finally admitted that, under his watch, bank regulation was for not fit- for- purpose. His really big error was stripping the Bank of England of it's powers to regulate UK Banks. He should now admit that this was huge error.

Gordon Brown continues to this day to be in denial and will not accept this was a great mistake. Time to make another admission Gordon.

Here is the TIMELINE to the biggest bank bungle ever.
This timetable shows how the cock-up occurred.


January 1997. Gordon Brown and Tony Blair discuss with Eddie George plans to offer Bank operational independence. Removal of supervisory role is raised but George is assured nothing will happen without consultation.

April 1997. Brown decides to offer Bank a package by giving it independence but taking away supervision.

2 May 1997. Brown discusses approach with Treasury officials. Last-minute intervention by senior civil servant persuades him to drop idea of withdrawing supervision.

5 May. Brown informs George of Bank's operational independence. He says there will be no decision on supervision without consultation.

6 May. Brown announces decision at press conference but hints that supervision will be examined.

8 May. Cabinet meets to discuss Queen's Speech contents. Reform of Financial Services Act which would revamp City regulation receives low priority.

14 May. Queen's Speech leaves out reform of FSA but includes bill enabling Bank's independence.

15 May. Brown's advisers suggest regulatory reform can be accelerated by linking it to Bank legislation.

19 May. Brown tells George bank supervision will be transferred to an enlarged SIB. George and other Bank officials are enraged by what they see as a betrayal of trust.

20 May. Brown announces reform to Parliament.

21 May. George tells press he considered resigning. His remarks are used by a Brown adviser to stir up campaign against George.

22 May. City bankers offer public support for George. Pound falls on fears he will be replaced.

23 May. Government officials attempt to patch up rift.

Gordon's self confessed lax regulation also allowed both AIG and Lehman Bros to transact trillion dollar risks in London that were not allowed in the USA.


Meliden - Updated Wed 14th April 2010

CANDIDATES TURN LEFT

Labour's Scary Candidate List


John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) Whatever it is, he’s against it. As an MP between 1997 and 2005, he voted against his own government more than 80 times, rebelling on the Iraq war, university fees and benefits cuts. He previously worked for the Morning Star, the communist-linked newspaper, and is now political officer of Unite, the BA strike union.


Jack Dromey (Birmingham Erdington) Harriet Harman’s husband is deputy general secretary of the increasingly militant Unite. Came to prominence as the organiser of the year-long strike at the Grunwick film processing laboratories in the 1970s, a dispute marred by violent clashes. Replaces Sion Simon, once a political columnist for the Tory-supporting Daily Telegraph.


Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) President of the hard-line National Union of Mineworkers. During the miners’ strike he was arrested half a dozen times. Replaces Denis Murphy, a generally loyal former coalminer who campaigned on local issues.


Teresa Pearce (Erith and Thamesmead) A member of the Grassroots Alliance — “committed to redistributing wealth, income and power from the few to the many” — beat Georgia Gould, daughter of Tony Blair’s pollster Phillip Gould, to secure the nomination. Describes herself as a “left-wing activist” on her Twitter page.


Chuka Umunna (Streatham) May dress and sound like a Blairite, but do not be fooled. He sits on the management committee of Compass, the left-wing group that has called for a renationalisation of the railways and a ban on all outdoor advertising. Replaces Keith Hill, a moderate former minister.


Lillian Greenwood (Nottingham South) Greenwood, an official for Unison, the public services union, and a member of the left-wing Compass group, describes herself as a campaigner for “workers’ rights”.


Yasmin Qureshi (Bolton South East) Adviser to Ken Livingstone, former mayor of London, Qureshi stood unsuccessfully in his former seat of Brent East in 2005, when the human rights lawyer launched a strong attack on the Iraq war.


Nancy Platts (Brighton Pavilion) A former official for the TSSA transport union, she was selected after playing up her opposition to the Iraq war, identity cards and privatisation, which won her plaudits in the hard left Morning Star newspaper.

MPs criticise Trevor Phillips

Equalities watchdog chairman Trevor Phillips has today been criticised by an influential group of MPs and peers.

The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) raised serious concerns over Mr Phillips' leadership and questioned Harriet Harman's decision to push through his reappointment without a contest.

The report follows the resignation of six commissioners from the Equality and Human Rights Commission in 2009. The resignations were a protest at Mr Phillips' continued chairmanship.

Surely he now has to resign.

Adonis calls on Unite to stop Strike

LORD ADONIS yesterday became the first Cabinet Minister to speak out against the trade union behind the British Airways strike, accusing it of “threatening the future” of the airline.To the fury of Unite, the Secretary of State for Transport described the seven days of walkouts planned this month by thousands of cabin crew as “deplorable” and “totally unjustified”. The minister, a moderate Blairite, became the first senior member of the Labour government to break ranks and blame the union – one of the party’s biggest financial backers – for the industrial action.He immediately faced an angry reaction from Unite, whose political director, Charlie Whelan, is a close ally and former spokesman of Gordon Brown. Mr Whelan was recently identified as one of Downing Street’s “forces of hell” who briefed against anyone who dared oppose Mr Brown.Union officials were said to be “livid” at Lord Adonis’s “uninformed” and “blundering” intervention. They contacted Downing Street to insist ministers should not blame them for the industrial action, which could affect 500,000 BA passengers.The row highlights the close relationship between Labour and Unite — the union has donated £11million to the party in the past three years.Mr Whelan has begun working closely with the Prime Minister and the Labour Party in the run-up to the election Source Daily Telegraph15/03/10