Bonus plan shows nasty party’s back
Anger as No11 could scrap cap on millionaire pay
IN case anyone was under any illusion about Liz Truss, the latest Tory plans to enrich the ultra-rich by getting rid of the cap on bankers’ bonuses spell it out in bold – the nasty party is back.
There is no doubt about the agenda for the Truss premiership, short or long as it may be.
That is to cut taxes for the rich, get rid of rules and protections that fetter the greed and excess of rampant capitalism and allow a breed of profiteering Tory cronies, already bloated from Covid contracts, to cash in as quickly as possible.
The plans being floated to end the cap on bankers’ bonuses could not be more blatant.
It is as if the 2008 crash, symbolised by the greed is good reign of Fred “The Shred” Goodwin at the Royal Bank of Scotland had never happened.
The very people who drove the economy off the road, who broke the banking system, who we bailed out without a single jail sentence, have got their marionette Chancellor and Prime Minister in place. Now they expect their reward.
Not even Boris Johnson, at his most boosterish, dared give his banking friends freedom from the rules that stopped their bonuses at double their annual salaries.
Johnson, at least, could read how people who are frightened about how they will keep the lights on and the house warm this winter would react.
This is the toxic Tories at their worst, refusing to impose a windfall tax on the massive profits of the energy companies, getting the public to pay for their bail-out and cutting corporation tax for big firms.
Hell mend them. If Truss’s first instinct is to feed the greed rather than feed the needy then her time at Downing Street will be cursed and short.
NEW Tory Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has been accused of planning “pay rises for City bankers and pay cuts for district nurses”.
It came as it was revealed he is considering scrapping the cap on bankers’ bonuses.
The controversial proposal will allow City workers to pocket millions while ordinary people’s wages fall because of inflation and the cost-of-living crisis.
Kwarteng is due to present a mini-budget to the Commons which will address the energy emergency.
City bonuses were capped after the 2008 financial crisis when bankers crashed the global economy by loading it with bad debts.
It limits annual pay-outs to double their salary.
Sources suggested the move would be part of a wider package to make London a more attractive place for global banks.
SNP Treasury spokeswoman Alison Thewliss MP said: “If true, these shameful plans show once again that the Tories are more interested in putting more money into the pockets of their friends and donors in the City while turning their backs on ordinary households struggling across the UK.
“The Tory-made cost-of-living crisis is spiralling out of control with people being burdened with unmanageable levels of debt due to rocketing bills and food prices.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has previously accused the Tories of plotting “pay rises for City bankers, pay cuts for district nurses”.
Lifting the cap would come as the Government refuses Labour’s demands for a multi-billion-pound windfall tax on the soaring profits of gas and oil giants to help cover energy bill payouts to families.
Unite leader Sharon Graham said workers will be “appalled and angry”.
She added: “When millions are struggling to feed their families and keep the lights on, the UK Government’s priority appears to be boosting the telephone number salaries of their friends in the city.”
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Bonuses in the City are already at a record high.
“While executives rake it in, millions are struggling to keep their heads above water.
“The Chancellor’s No1 priority should be getting wages rising for everyone – not boosting bonuses for those at the top.”
Economist Andrew Sentance, a member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee during the financial crisis, criticised the timing of the plans.
He said: “It sends a rather confused signal when people are being squeezed in terms of the cost of living and the Government is trying to encourage pay restraint in the public sector.”