Monday 19 January 2009

No more bailouts, nationalise now!

Today the Government announced a further 'bank rescue plan' - yet there are pigeon steps towards a more interventionist role: 'nationalised' Northern Rock to expand lending, rather than winding down and repaying its loans. The Government has also now taken a 70% stake in RBS.

These are however minor moves, and the bailout will again risk public money without adequate controls, and there is still no intention to restructure the banking system. LEAP put out the following press release in response:

No more bailouts, nationalise now!

As the Government announces yet another rescue plan for the banking sector, LEAP makes one simple demand: nationalise the banks now and use them to help resolve the crisis, rather than continue exacerbating it.

John McDonnell MP, LEAP Chair, said:

"Again we see the Government pouring public money down the bottomless drain of the banks.

"Anger is mounting about the dithering and delays as the Government skirts around the only solution: to nationalise the banks in order to develop and impose a new banking strategy in the long-term interests of the country - rather than restoring the opportunity for another round of speculation and profiteering."

Andrew Fisher, LEAP Co-ordinator, said:

"The Government cannot continue to bailout the banks, while the banks continue to turf people out of their homes and out of their jobs. Restoring people to their jobs and housing is a more urgent priority than restoring bank profitability."

"The only solution is nationalisation of the banks and the Government seems only to be edging at a snail's pace towards this realisation."


-Ends-

4 comments:

  1. Nothing much said about the profits of the power companies 2 billion and yet the prices we are told will not come down because they need these profits nationalize these git's now.

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  2. I believe that what we are seeing is the (predicted) specular collapse of the apparatus that has protected privilege and repressed my class for hundreds of years.

    They see the writing on the wall and they are tinkering using up what little control they have left, to give they impression that they are in control, but they know they can only ever hope to buy time and that it's all over.

    However, the working class is in a mess, stripped of it's identity and lacking in political education and solidarity.

    To take a phrase from an other struggle Tiocfaidh Ar La (forgive my spelling

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  3. I agree with 'anom', this struggle is broader.

    Do we feel however, that the Labour party is the vehicle, for this progress of change?

    we say what happened, with the change of power in the Labour party.

    I left the party myself 8 years ago when i say it becoming a second conservative party. I am not sure whether we are wasting our time making it a vehicle that can affect real change.

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  4. LEAP have been ahead of the game on this issue. Best of luck in getting this message out in the media.

    ReplyDelete