Down on his luck and down in the polls, Gordon Brown attacks the city
Gordon Brown has today joined the attack, yet again, on the UK banking sector and threatened to cap future bonuses in the industry. The move, which many believe is purely and simply a way to divert attention away from other issues in the UK ahead of the next Labour Party conference, appeared to indicate that bonuses will be capped in the future, but this has not been clarified with any real foundation.
A quick look back at the recent relationship between the UK banking sector, UK government and the UK regulators shows that when the chips are down the banking sector appears to be "the new whipping boy". The truth is, even though many Labour MPs would have you believe otherwise, there is very little that the UK authorities can do to place an ultimate cap on city bonuses. The UK financial services industry has for many years undergone "self regulation", something which was strengthened under Gordon Brown's tenure at the Treasury.
It is also fairly evident that the UK authorities are very good at grabbing headlines but not so good at putting "meat on the bone". This is now 18 months since the UK government and UK regulator's first announced plans to limit bonuses and remuneration packages in the city and ultimately nothing has been done as yet.
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