Clegg Expresses Anger at Bankers
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Nick Clegg admitted having deep resentment of bank executives taking multi-million payouts despite the banking industry being supported by struggling taxpayers.
The deputy prime minister promised to tackle excessive bank bonuses at the Liberal Democrat's spring conference in Sheffield, which was picketed by thousands of protesters. Mr Clegg said he would like to “wring the neck of these wretched people who behaved so irresponsibly and then we are now having to bail them out.”
Mr Clegg's comments were the latest on escalating banker-bashing rhetoric by politicians after the information of bank executives payouts was released to the public. His statements put him firmly on the side of politicians who will demand structural reforms in the banking sector after an independent review is produced this autumn by Sir John Vickers.
“Difficult choices, especially at these difficult times, provoke controversy, sometimes protest,” he said. “And it is not easy for us as a party to be the focus of those protests.”
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber have said that the coalition made the wrong judgment about how to reduce the deficit by trying to eliminate it in four years mainly through cuts, but that the cuts were being used as cover fundamentally to weaken the welfare state.
Nick Clegg faced protesters after the party meeting. He said: “Even after making every allowance for the realities of coalition and an election result that closed down options, the Liberal Democrats are ending up on the wrong side of the fundamental divide in British politics.”
Mr Clegg also urged his party to be resilient of protests against the Liberal Democrat's role in the government. He said: “With power comes protest. We need to get used to it.”
Responding to Mr Clegg's comments, Angela Knight, chief executive of the British Bankers’ Association, said: “A few banks got into difficulty but the majority did not and in any comment about banks it is surely necessary to recognise this.”
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