The coalition decides to accept the flak over bonuses

The truth, as they say, is out: it doesn’t look as though the coalition will be doing much about bankers’ bonuses after all. According to this morning’s Times (£), it’s a case of the Tories getting one over the Lib Dems – and particularly Vince Cable – by not pushing down with more taxes on the City. But that, I suspect, is only half the story. The other half is that the coalition never had much in their armoury, but harsh rhetoric, in the first place. If they want the banks to start lending to business again, then their most substantial hope has always been a trade-off over bonuses.

Which – as Benedict Brogan suggests in an insightful post over at the Telegraph – is hardly an ideal situation for the coalition. They face a poll this morning that puts the Tories 8 points behind Labour, and the Lib Dems a further 22 points behind that.