If the right were really worried about inflating public sector pay, they may want to start with the bonuses of the public sector banks
It is widely reported this morning that bank bonuses totalled £14 billion this year – the same as last year and up from £8 billion a decade ago. But falling under the radar is the fact that the bonuses paid out by the temporarily nationalised banks are greater than bonuses paid to every single public sector worker in the country.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (replicated below) shows that although just 1 per cent of the workforce work for publicly owned banks, they paid out 1.6 per cent of the country’s £35 billion bonus pool. By contrast, the public sector, which employs close to one in four Britons, paid out just 1.5 per cent.
The staggering statistics underline the capitulation by the Government on bank bonuses. Earlier this year, the Chancellor cleared the way for bonus payments to the bosses of the bailed-out banks – Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group. Whereas in the past two years, the chief executives of both banks have waived their bonus payouts.
Reacting to the news, Lord Oakeshott, the former Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, said: ‘These banking bonus figures show sheer greed.
‘Our country won’t believe “We are all in this together” until the Government gets a grip on bank bonuses.’
George Osborne should take note.
64 Responses to “Osborne lets public bank bonuses rip, despite right’s obsession with public sector pay”
Yancey Thomas
Osborne lets public bank bonuses rip, despite right's obsession with public … http://bit.ly/n3onVc
mark
RT @leftfootfwd: Osborne lets public bank bonuses rip, despite right's obsession with public sector pay http://t.co/OyEGj2p
Mr. Sensible
Ed, look, I have said several times on here that the previous government should have done more to regulate the financial system, along with every other major industrial economy.
But what exactly is this one doing about it? No bonus restraint under Project Paper Bag (that name is more appropriate given what Lord Oakeshott said), no agreement on pay transparrency, and grose, not net, lending targets which are not being met. Osborne can give us all the rhetoric in the world about us all being in this together, but I, for one, simply don’t believe it.
Ed's Talking Balls
True enough, I can’t disagree with any of that. I was merely concerned that you were trying to make this a left-right issue, when quite clearly both parties were and are unwilling to address a rampant bonus culture. There’s no point pretending.
And you are absolutely right, we are not “all in this together”. What a nonsense slogan.