Anger over the bank bail-out

I had someone at my MP advice surgery this week who was very angry about the bank bail-out - and it was a subject that was raised again at one of my Q & A "meet the public" sessions this weekend (and had also come up in emails during the week). I'm not surprised - the public have a right to be angry. I made this point in my speech in the debate on "Financial Stability" in the House of Commons this week - click here for the text (my speech starts a few paragraphs down.

I think most people realise that the government had to take action to stop a melt-down in the banking system; as I pointed out in my speech, it would be ordinary people, not 'fat cats' who would lose out. But it's also fair to demand that those who pocketed millions as a result of the way they ran their banks over the last few years shouldn't be able to benefit from the recovery plans - and if big bonus payments are the reward for success, isn't time for those who got them to pay them back?

(Good article in today's Guardian about the advantages of the mutual sector e.g. the building societies).