Government by Consent

Nationalising the banks in the United Kingdom has been presented as a magnificent success for our Leader. To further this there has been a determined pretence that what has been done in Europe to recapitalise the banking system is the same as what is being attempted in the UK. Nothing could be further from the truth, not least in the political implications that are resulting from governments standing ready to assist if needed. In the UK the element of coercion on some banks to admit government into their running is a paramount characteristic, coupled with a determination to retain powers within the banks forced into accepting government aid. In Europe there is no coercion and every encouragement to return any taxpayers' input accepted fast, so that banks and governments can retire to their respective spheres as soon as possible.

The political attitude displayed by our regime is now underlined further by the pressure to nationalise parts of the building industry, and use labour that is being shed to build social housing, that is coming from the governing party. This is being presented as a return to keynesian economic practice.

“I think he [Mr Brown] has got an appetite for this. He is attempting to minimise the impact on everyone else from banking lunacy and he’ll be looking for anything practical. It is back to Keynes, spending money in a way that creates useful wealth.” Calls are being made to 'legislate to enable reserve powers over infrastructure such as rail or property. The powers could involve “stakeholdings, recapitalisation and other matters”, (Cruddas, Dobson, Hain, Mitchell et al., reported in the Financial Times.)

There is nothing of Keynes in all this, and a great deal of state corporatism.

We have suffered already the ejection of our elected Prime Minister and the imposition of a usurper. We have suffered the imposition of ministers dismissed twice from the government shoe-horned back into office by the exercise of Executive power over part of our legislature. We have been forced to accept the ratification by the Executive of a treaty conceding the sovereignty of the United Kingdom to another power when the former government was elected on the promise of a vote on that treaty.

A programme of taking a permanent position in major UK banking institutions, and extending that model of government relations with the financial sector into other major economic sectors has never been put to the electorate for their acceptance at a general election.

If the consent of the governed to all this and more is not requested through a general election, then we must recognise that we are ruled by force.