Political Economy » Uncategorized

Banking Regulation – A Revisitation

Charles Vickers — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 11:48:56 +0000

On the 27th September 2009 I made a speech to the English Democrats AGM and autumn conference entitled “ The ABC of Banking Regulation” (http://bit.ly/u2vCYM). I made the speech because as I said, “It [the bank crisis] happened because we had the lightest touch, and probably the most dysfunctional, bank regulatory scheme going”. The recent report on the Royal Bank of Scotland failure (the RBSR) by the Financial Services Authority, who were responsible for regulation, appears to agree with me.

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Saving The Euro

Charles Vickers — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 11:43:40 +0000

What I have found most amazing about the comments on Cameron’s veto is that very few of those participating, from BBC reporters, presenters and interviewers to the vast herds of unwashed politicians and their advisors, is a complete lack of understanding of the part that financial markets will take in determining the future of the euro and as a result what needs to be done.

Can the English NHS Survive the Coalition?

Charles Vickers — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 08:30:04 +0000

As the months go by the chances of the people of England retaining a National Health Service get lower and lower.

The latest shock is the news that, compounded over five years, the efficiency target for hospitals is 37%!. John Appleby, chief economist at the King’s Fund was quoted in the Financial Times (29th April) “Its like the unit cost of a hip operation has got to decrease by 37%. How?”

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Scottish Local Government Expenditure Cut By Only 5.6%

Charles Vickers — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:55:13 +0000

According to the BBC http://bbc.in/bARDUv the local government expenditure is to be cut in Scotland by 5.6%. Since the Scottish government received only a 4.16% cut in the money given to it by Westminster this seems rather hard on the people of Scotland.

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A Yankee View

English Yankee — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 10:41:34 +0000

Having lived in England for nearly 36 years I feel at last able to comment on politics. It’s not that I have never been involved or taken an interest in politics(more of that later) but as a Yank I have always been aware that even the natives of these islands are not always aware of what is going on. Let me explain.