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Friday, February 27, 2009

Mob rule

There is precious little sympathy for those who have lately been running our banks but they are nevertheless entitled to the same protection from the law as the rest of us.

Sir Fred Goodwin, lately of the Royal Bank of Scotland, is the fortunate beneficiary of a pension of well over £600,000 a year, and it is pretty obvious that the government wants most of it back. And not just the government. Parliament, the press and the blogosphere are in uproar. The man in the street is outraged.

Regardless of the legalities of the case, and in view of the damage wrought to our public finances the extremely unsavoury nature of the case, Sir Fred is entitled to his money. Contracts freely entered into cannot just be overturned on a whim. If we go down that road we are not just leaving ourselves open to chaos, but ultimately fascism.

It should not be forgotten that this situation could not have occurred if a satisfactory and effective regulatory regime were in place. Evidently such regulation as there has been has been woeful. Responsibility for this must ultimately reside with the government, a thought which no doubt has occurred to Labour ministers and others who seek to pin the blame on anyone other than the resident of 10 Downing Street. Gordon Brown's pension pot may not be as large as Sir Fred Goodwin's, but we assume that it is as safe as anybody else's in the current circumstances.

There is, moreover, a more satisfactory method of expressing public anger and disgust at the individuals through whose carelessness the financial future of all of us has been jeopardised. Many of the individuals concerned carry titles: knighthoods, peerages, awards of other kinds. Her Majesty giveth, and Her Majesty taketh away.

Arise, Mr Fred Goodwin.

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