Scrapping bonus caps on wealthy London bankers is a bad idea – Yorkshire Post Letters

Scrapping bonus caps on already wealthy London bankers would be a bad idea at the best of times (Kwarteng attacked on bank bonus proposals, The Yorkshire Post, September 16). These aren’t the best of times. TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady points out the proposals reflect poorly on a new Liz Truss Government meant to be focussed on the cost-of-living crisis.

Let’s not forget why the caps were agreed to while we were still a member of the European Union: Bonus chasing bankers were largely blamed for the global financial crash 14 years ago, which in turn served as the excuse at least for a decade of Tory austerity.

It’s not just the personal financial crisis and household austerity many families are now facing that makes the coverage for this idea – presumably prompted by ministerial sanctioned leaking – look odd and suspicious.

Firstly, Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng had barely been in post a week when these reports emerged. Imagine what that says about his priorities and those of ministerial colleagues.

Secondly, it’s typical for them to sneak out what they know is bad news when the public’s focus is rightly elsewhere. Imagine the outrage had the country’s attention not been on the Queen’s passing.

We’ve just had the 21st anniversary of 9/11, when a British ministerial aide notoriously claimed the New York terrorist attack was “a good day to bury bad news”.

The argument goes that Liz Truss doesn’t need to call a General Election because she’s got a mandate handed to Boris Johnson in 2019. But even he wouldn’t do this - “fearing a political backlash”, says the Financial Times.

Also, according to the FT, an unnamed financial executive sees this as a “clear Brexit dividend: something you can present as a win”.

Many more might see it as an example of the protections and safeguards the Government is eyeing up when it talks about “EU red tape”. We’d benefit far more from removal of all the costly and worthless bureaucracy that this Brexit Government has introduced than creating a new generation of “Fred the Shred” bankers.