A good win for FredSir Fred Goodwin. Probably the most famous banker in the world, but for all the wrong reasons. Sir Fred, who was knighted for his services to the banking industry (!)became the man everybody loves to hate last week when he refused to hand back any of his reported £693,000 + per year annual pension (it could be more, but what's a few tens of thousands between friends?)
The unacceptable face of capitalism, twenty-first century version? You better believe it. Sir Fred has quickly become the most hated figure in Britain, quite an achievement for a once-anonymous, colourless character. Doubtless more Sir Fred's will be unearthed over the coming weeks; golden handshakes, eye watering bonuses and platinum-plated pension pots were the order of the day in the Neverland world of international finance, a world where the sun never set. Well, until now.
The focus on Sir Fred did manage to deflect some attention away from the government's handling of the economic crisis, so every cloud ...
Mind you, three of our esteemed Lords and masters haven't exactly covered themselves in glory over the last few days, and doubtless each for his own reasons will be satisfied that Sir Fred has been capturing all the headlines.
There was the noble Lord Ahmed, jailed for careless driving after killing a man on the motorway - the good lord had been texting away furiously just minutes before the accident. Still, the jail sentence wasn't too severe, and Ahmed's well-upholstered seat in the House of Lords will still be warm when he gets out.
Then there's Lord Myners, Gordon's man on the inside during the RBS negotiations. It's claimed that His Lordship was involved in the discussions over Sir Fred's lucrative pay-off deal. Lord Myners claims he didn't know all the details - if he didn't, he should have. Quite concerning, as this is one of the government's most trusted financial advisers.
And last, but never least, we have Lord Mandelson. 'Call me Pete' infuriated at least half of the Labour Party when he announced plans to part-privatise Royal Mail. Peter knows best, of course - when has he ever put a foot wrong? Lord Mandy even brought the legislation forward by a day, making his statement on the day that David Cameron's young son died. I am sure that the timing of this controversial announcement was totally coincidental, but there is always an air of suspicious intent hanging over our Sneaky Pete. Old habits die hard and all that ...
So Three Wise Men - all leading government figures, all unelected. All setting a fine example, all claiming £300 a day for turning up in the Lords, plus all the other nice wee Westminster perks that make life just that little bit better. Nice work if you can get it. Twenty-five years on from the Miners Strike, this is New Labour. We've certainly come a long way ...
Pictures: Parliament and Nogbad the Bad. Geddit?
