Bonus culture Some have called for an end to a ‘bonus culture’ in banks and big firms. But bonus culture has been around a long time… — Around the year ad 70, Roman legionnaires received bonuses of 25 denarii to supplement their salaries of 225 denarii. — Bonuses were recorded by 14th-century Florentine banks, with
Home Fred Goodwin, the former chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, was stripped of his knighthood by the Forfeiture Committee, which said he had ‘brought the honours system into disrepute’. Stephen Hester, the chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, turned down a £963,000 shares-only bonus payment in the face of ‘enormous
When George Osborne became Chancellor, he took charge of a very large zombie bank with a medium-sized government attached to it. The Royal Bank of Scotland was nationalised in 2008 with assets of £2.2 trillion, almost four times state annual spending. The difference between RBS being run well or run badly could be counted in
Here are some posts made on Spectator.co.uk during the past week: Fraser Nelson champions John Sentamu as the next Archbishop of Canterbury, and examines Labour’s chances in the 2015 election. James Forysth contemplates what Chris Huhne’s resignation means, and reminds us of the coalition’s political purpose over Fred Goodwin. Peter Hoskin has a six-point guide
…here are some posts made on Spectator.co.uk over the weekend: Fraser Nelson finds the prospect of party political police commissioners depressing, and doubts that 51 per cent of Scots really back independence. James Forsyth notes that Douglas Alexander understands Labour’s problem, and comments on the party’s attempt to seize on Stephen Hester’s bonus. Peter Hoskin breaks down
Behind the pack Sir: Melissa Kite (‘Labour’s Iron Lady’, 21 January) writes an excellent article examining the pros and cons of Yvette Cooper’s suitability for leadership of the Labour party. She is quite wrong, however, to state categorically that ‘Cooper’s intelligence is beyond doubt’. Cooper’s academic ability may be so described but, dear oh dear,
Lords spiritual The bishops in the House of Lords, who led a successful rebellion against plans for a benefits cap this week, are a remarkable survival of Lords reform. — While most hereditary peers lost the right to sit in the Lords as part of the House of Lords Act 1999, the number of bishops
Home The government was defeated in the Lords by 252 to 237 on an amendment by the Rt Rev John Packer, Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, to the Welfare Reform Bill, removing child benefit from the proposed welfare cap of £26,000 a year per household. Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, said in the Commons that
Last week, the Islamist group Boko Haram launched a horrific attack, bombing five Nigerian police stations and killing 186 in one day. What started as a campaign targeting Christians in the north has now grown into a crisis that threatens to overwhelm the Nigerian government — and the church leaders who appealed for foreign assistance
To mark Holocaust Memorial Day, here’s a piece Sam Schulman wrote for The Spectator 12 years ago, on his fear that ‘Holocaustology’ will create a new form of anti-Semitism. Did six million die for this?, Sam Schulman, 1 January 2000 The Holocaust dominated the moral imagination of the 20th century. Before the rise of Hitler,
Here are some posts made on Spectator.co.uk during the past week: Fraser Nelson tells Tristram Hunt that capitalism is just what Britain does, and says Osborne owes Darling an apology. James Forsyth thinks the Tories will be delighted to see the battle over the benefit cap prolonged, and says Alex Salmond’s strategy is both subtle
