Will Brown get hit by the banking shrapnel?

Cut & Paste - the juice.

From Moneyweek:-

Gordon Brown concedes he might have put the economy at risk when he removed the Bank of England as City watchdog in 1997, says Trevor Kavanagh in The Sun. “But he seems bewildered that greedy bankers took advantage of this loophole, plunging Britain into the worst slump in the Western world. Will he go a little further and admit that on the day Labour came to power, he and Tony Blair were told in a blazing face-to-face row with Bank governor Eddie George that this was precisely the risk they were taking?”

Nicholas

I'm beginning to thing that Brown's listing battleship won't sink. It is full of holes, overladen with umpteen revelations of incompetence, corruption, sleaze and misconduct. Its gun turrets point this way and that pumping out noisy but useless shells of blame, spite and empty promises. It still churns out a smokescreen of propaganda, lies and spin in its wake, now extending 12 years in length. Jonah is on the bridge, full of false indignation and vainglory. And so it steams on, towing Britain along behind it.

Where is the torpedo to finally sink the bloody thing? All I can see is trepidation, cowardice, waffle and speculation amongst journalists and politicos who 30 years ago would have brought this hopelessly limping charade down by now.

Do we really have to wait more than a year for the end that is already so obvious to everyone?

Liz Brown

I sincerely hope so - he's up to his scraggy neck in this

Rhoda Klapp

Nicholas, nice picture, appreciated. I see it in Eisenstein black and white, with captions.

oldtimer

Removal of the BofE as City watchdog was decisive. I read, some years ago, that Mr George came close to resigning over the issue.

I saw much, but not all, of this morning`s session. Some of the questions were, to me, just a waste of time. No one asked, when I was watching, why they the banks extended loans up to 125% of property value or 5 x earnings, or why as banks they extended themselves so far with debt. But there can be no doubt that Brown`s negligence coupled with hubris is central to this catastrophe - for that is what it is.

Death or Tory

@ Nicholas

"Do we really have to wait more than a year for the end that is already so obvious to everyone?"

Not wishing to sound like a 'Billy No-Mates' conspiracy theorist, but doubt is beginning to take hold as to whether there will actually BE a General Election called next year - if you are so obviously going to be annihilated in an Election, why not find a way of postponing/cancelling it?

Apparently bets are being placed on the calling of a Government of National Unity on the back of the Civil Contingencies Act in 2010.

Paul B

Alex Salmond was interviewed this afternoon by Simon Mayo on R5L this afternoon. As ever, he was most impressive and persuasive. He was asked by Mayo about the bankers. He replied with the usual criticisms but then went on to say he hoped the select committee would also be interviewing those others he considered at fault for the economic mess we are now in. BOE officials (I think he particularly enjoyed that one) Treasury officials, FSA etc etc. He then added Darling and Brown and those in charge during the calamity that has hit us. The winter storms are melting away, if only our woes could. As ever I warmed to Salmond and really believe DC could do a deal with him that would keep Labour out of England for a generation or more.

Hysteria

D or T - I have posted in a similar fashion but on the basis of no real evidence - I mean - they couldn't - could they.....?

Gene Evans

But all this bankers are complete Tories. I suppose Cameron is happy for them to continue getting bonuses as long as they continue to donate some of it to the Tory Party.

Tiberius

C&P: and while most commentators were drooling over Brown's BoE reconstruction (destruction?), Ken Clarke stood out as one accusing him of making policy on the hoof.

Tom Pride

Gordon is running second in a vote “Who is responsible for the global financial crisis?” at

http://timesbusiness.typepad.com/money_weblog/2009/01/the-ten-men-to-blame-for-the-credit-crunch.html

22.6% to Greenspan’s 28%.

If you’ve got time give it a visit!

Chris H

Nicholas 2.11pm

Great image. Thank you. Like you, I cannot believe we have to wait 12 more months for the country to pass its verdict on this shower. Perhaps, as others have suggested, there is something more sinister in the works. But in any Government of National Unity Brown would have to go anyway (as the price of cooperation from the other parties). So what really is NuLab's plan?

Gordon Musgo

Not long ago Alex Salmond's big idea was to sail away on SS Scotland with RBS as the engine room. Had he been able to do so, his new country would have been well and truly stuffed. He didn't see this coming, and if allowed would have bust Scotland for 100 years.

Ian C

Nicholas, you conjure an image of a bi-plane at the end of its fuel range and only one torpedo underneath, like in Sink the Bismark.

"Bismark Broon" seems to have a ring to it - but it could be taken the wrong way!

Gene Evans, you will find that a very surprising quantity of highly paid bankers are (or were) Labour supporters. They backed the Blair/Brown project at a time that noone though the Tories credible. Little did they realise they were backing a suicide pact.

TGF UKIP

Nicholas, your admirable post spells out just why, more than ever, the Tory Party was so misguided in its selection of Leader in December 2005 and why the media conspirators (so well represented at The Spectator) have so much to answer for.

mac

@Nicholas: A vivid image!

You say: "All I can see is trepidation, cowardice, waffle and speculation amongst journalists and politicos who 30 years ago would have brought this hopelessly limping charade down by now."

Agreed, but 30 years ago there wasn't an unelected but powerful and vindictive party pit bull ever ready to besmirch anyone who might dare to tell things as they are, and destroy careers and families without compunction. Nor was there such an abject excuse for an 'impartial' state broadcaster. Nor was there an inept party toady pretending to be Speaker, or a hypocritical, venal Home Secretary with tame and biddable policemen eager to follow the party line. There are plenty of other examples.

@IanC:

To be accurate, it was HMS Dorsetshire's torpedoes that finally sank Bismarck, not the Swordfish's hit. Interestingly, when the real Iron Chancellor (not our latter day feet-of-clay merchant) left office in 1890, he was told to go by his monarch, and he did so gracefully. Would that that option was feasible in Britain today . .

Steve.W

Will Brown get hit? Already well damaged I say.