Mandy: "that's It, The City's Finished For 20 Years"

[pete.hpc]

According to Richard Noble on Robert Llewellyn's (excellent) Carpool.

When Mandy was appointed "Business Tsar", he apparently spoke at a dinner for the engineering/design industry and was heard to announce to the room that "the City is finished for 20 years (in light of the credit crunch), the future, if we're going to have one, lies with engineering, design and technology"

That's the trouble with New Labour, always playing catchup, and always disastrously too late.

That should've been their mantra in 2000, rather than doing everything they could to massage the collective prostates of the banking and property industries.

Edited October 6, 2010 by pete.hpc

[Errol]

"I would like to pay tribute to the contribution you and your company make to the prosperity of Britain," Mr Brown told assembled bankers in London's Canary Wharf . "During its 150 year history, Lehman Brothers has always been an innovator, financing new ideas and inventions before many others even began to realize their potential."

Gordon Brown, a week before the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

[Peter Hun]

"I would like to pay tribute to the contribution you and your company make to the prosperity of Britain," Mr Brown told assembled bankers in London's Canary Wharf . "During its 150 year history, Lehman Brothers has always been an innovator, financing new ideas and inventions before many others even began to realize their potential."

Gordon Brown, a week before the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

And if he had said the opposite the UK would have been liable for 750billion in damages for causing the collapse. Politicians have the responsibility to prop up businesses up until the final moment, not put thousands of people out of a job with de-stabilising comments.

[dohrayme]

"I would like to pay tribute to the contribution you and your company make to the prosperity of Britain," Mr Brown told assembled bankers in London's Canary Wharf . "During its 150 year history, Lehman Brothers has always been an innovator, financing new ideas and inventions before many others even began to realize their potential."

Gordon Brown, a week before the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

I think, if you bother to look it up, you'll find it was a bit more than a week...

[Mikhail Liebenstein]

According to Richard Noble on Robert Llewellyn's (excellent) Carpool.

When Mandy was appointed "Business Tsar", he apparently spoke at a dinner for the engineering/design industry and was heard to announce to the room that "the City is finished for 20 years (in light of the credit crunch), the future, if we're going to have one, lies with engineering, design and technology"

That's the trouble with New Labour, always playing catchup, and always disastrously too late.

That should've been their mantra in 2000, rather than doing everything they could to massage the collective prostates of the banking and property industries.

Well I hope this is true.

Might be time to start designing stuff again, I used to be a good engineer, but got lured away by customers in the  City, though I have also done some engineering design and management systems.

[guitarman001]

There may be a more prosperous future for me yet.... fingers crossed.

[OnlyMe]

Mandy ignored the fact that monetary and economic policy had been hijacked even further to prop the pigs.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/8044507/City-job-vacancies-back-at-pre-crisis-levels.html

City job vacancies back at pre-crisis levels

City job vacancies have surged to pre-crisis levels despite a new report which shows a dramatic slowdown in hiring across all sectors last month.

An analysis of banking and financial jobs in the Square Mile by recruitment firm Ambition, published yesterday, found the number of vacancies in the third quarter of 2010 was two and a half times higher than when the UK was caught in deep recession in the first three months of 2009.

Overall the number of roles available is now higher than at any point since 2007, the study showed.

[The Masked Tulip]

I know every Engineer will say it but Labour did enormous damage to British Engineering.

There, I feel better now - doesn't change anything alas.

[non frog]

....That should've been their mantra in 2000, rather than doing everything they could to massage the collective prostates of the banking and property industries.

I agree - but the key thing is "New" Labour. Blair saw that the electorate want a centre right party and make "old Labour" into Tory Lite. It worked (spectacularly) and won "The Third Way" two terms. Unheard of by the old school. New Labour like the Conservatives is the party of the bankers and speculators.

The only real hope at the last election was the Lib Dems and now we see they too are wedded to the speculation model.

Why work when you can get free money? Everyone wants to make a big fat wedge on their speculation. When the general population saw that houses were a one-way speculation that made you rich the collapse was inevitable. We are, IMHO, only half way through that process in the UK. The crash in residential real estate of countries like Ireland will come to the UK soon. That is what this forum is for is it not? Talking about that. The ConDems if they are to remain popular must try at all costs to ensure the property speculation does not go sour. They must try for the much fabled "soft landing". Brown tried and might have got there if left alone, but the size of the problem overwhelmed the last government. Their idiotic Thatcherite belief in the "markets" proved wrong. Thankfully Osborne and Dave don't buy into that cr@p, they are old school rich and know that wealth must be taken from the mouth of the poor. Ironically most of Britain is now waking up to the fact it is poor because their house is worth Jack. The next leg down will be a hard one to live with.

[IBlewItLastTime]

Mandy ... was heard to announce to the room that "the City is finished for 20 years (in light of the credit crunch)"

The biggest contributor to UK tax revenue is financial services, with 12% (Source:PwC)

If the City were really finished, the country would be finished.

[billybong]

When Mandy was appointed "Business Tsar", he apparently spoke at a dinner for the engineering/design industry and was heard to announce to the room that "the City is finished for 20 years (in light of the credit crunch), the future, if we're going to have one, lies with engineering, design and technology"

.

Sounds like he was having his Harold Wilson new vision "white heat of technology" moment when the UK economy was going through another problem period (although nothing like the current crisis). There have been endless new dawns for UK engineering and technology over the years.

Wilson's "white heat of technology" speech was in 1963 leading upto the 1964 general election. Mandelson was appointed "tsar" in October 2008 and was speaking to the engineering /design industry as the general election aproached.

"White heat of technology" in 1963 didn't make much difference even though Wilson won the 1964 election and the subsequent one in 1966, technology just continued to decline in the UK. But maybe it'll be different this time, "the City"/banking/financial sector has never been seen quite so obviously, clearly and widely for what it is and for its devastating affect on the general economy.

Edited October 6, 2010 by billybong

[Injin]

The biggest contributor to UK tax revenue is financial services, with 12% (Source:PwC)

If the City were really finished, the country would be finished.

They steal it, then the taxman steals it from them.

[bogbrush]

I agree - but the key thing is "New" Labour. Blair saw that the electorate want a centre right party and make "old Labour" into Tory Lite. It worked (spectacularly) and won "The Third Way" two terms. Unheard of by the old school. New Labour like the Conservatives is the party of the bankers and speculators.

The only real hope at the last election was the Lib Dems and now we see they too are wedded to the speculation model.

Why work when you can get free money? Everyone wants to make a big fat wedge on their speculation. When the general population saw that houses were a one-way speculation that made you rich the collapse was inevitable. We are, IMHO, only half way through that process in the UK. The crash in residential real estate of countries like Ireland will come to the UK soon. That is what this forum is for is it not? Talking about that. The ConDems if they are to remain popular must try at all costs to ensure the property speculation does not go sour. They must try for the much fabled "soft landing". Brown tried and might have got there if left alone, but the size of the problem overwhelmed the last government. Their idiotic Thatcherite belief in the "markets" proved wrong. Thankfully Osborne and Dave don't buy into that cr@p, they are old school rich and know that wealth must be taken from the mouth of the poor. Ironically most of Britain is now waking up to the fact it is poor because their house is worth Jack. The next leg down will be a hard one to live with.

Let's try a free market before we say it doesn't work, shall we?

[IBlewItLastTime]

They steal it, then the taxman steals it from them.

1. WIlling buyer, willing seller isn't theft. Stop using financial services if you dont like it. I try to.

2. They 'steal' a lot of it from foreigners!

[Olebrum]

The biggest contributor to UK tax revenue is financial services, with 12% (Source:PwC)

If the City were really finished, the country would be finished.

And when you take into account how much it has cost the nation to bail them out?

Neither the country nor planet needs the parasites.

[northwestsmith2]

The biggest contributor to UK tax revenue is financial services, with 12% (Source:PwC)

If the City were really finished, the country would be finished.

If you skim money off vast flows then it makes the amount look good but they don't add much in value.

I think National Insurance is 34% or so of government income.

The real money is all in housing

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=479

[leicestersq]

And if he had said the opposite the UK would have been liable for 750billion in damages for causing the collapse. Politicians have the responsibility to prop up businesses up until the final moment, not put thousands of people out of a job with de-stabilising comments.

And if he had known what he was doing, he would have set up a regulatory body with the powers that would have closed this steaming pile of poo years before it brought the Western World down.

[Injin]

1. WIlling buyer, willing seller isn't theft. Stop using financial services if you dont like it. I try to.

2. They 'steal' a lot of it from foreigners!

2. seems to contradict 1.

Just sayin'

[Democorruptcy]

"I would like to pay tribute to the contribution you and your company make to the prosperity of Britain," Mr Brown told assembled bankers in London's Canary Wharf . "During its 150 year history, Lehman Brothers has always been an innovator, financing new ideas and inventions before many others even began to realize their potential."

Gordon Brown, a week before the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

He said it when he opened their new office in 2004

[Tired of Waiting]

According to Richard Noble on Robert Llewellyn's (excellent) Carpool.

(...)

It looks interesting. Is it free to download? Do you have a link please? Cheers.

[wonderpup]

Let's try a free market before we say it doesn't work, shall we?

You first- or do you want free markets and limited liability?

All these hero's of free market capitalism skulking behind their legal ramparts look just a bit hypocritical to me. They're all in favour of darwinian risk based markets- just not for themselves.

'No protection for labour' their insist, from the safety of their bunkers. Bullshitters all.

[alexw]

The biggest contributor to UK tax revenue is financial services, with 12% (Source:PwC)

If the City were really finished, the country would be finished.

Good 'ol straw man argument.

Its like arguing that we should legalize car theft so we can levy a 50% tax on it.

That'd create real weath for society as a whole too, yes?

[pete.hpc]

It looks interesting. Is it free to download? Do you have a link please? Cheers.

It is completely free, though I think they just signed a deal with one of the satellite channels to make some new stuff for TV, though that's exactly how these things should work; Make some great free stuff and get a TV deal

You'll probably know Llewellyn as the guy from Red Dwarf and Scrapheap Challenge

He get's some proper A-lister's to interview in his car;

http://www.llewtube.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/carpoolUK

Edited October 7, 2010 by pete.hpc

[non frog]

You first- or do you want free markets and limited liability?

All these hero's of free market capitalism skulking behind their legal ramparts look just a bit hypocritical to me. They're all in favour of darwinian risk based markets- just not for themselves.

'No protection for labour' their insist, from the safety of their bunkers. Bullshitters all.

I'm afraid this is the truth. On an intellectual level I am prepared to admit that a so called "free market" might actually deliver a functioning economy, but it is pure cr@p. No one actually wants one save a few TFH nutjobs. In a true free market the banks would have gone down and all the people that have deposits in them lost their money. Throughout Europe we would now have soup kitchens and a massive depression that would make the 30s look like a holiday. A whole generation of Europeans have grown up and lived with a generous welfare state. They have now retired and are reliant on the welfare state that they have come to see as an entitlement, a basic right. Many think they have "paid in" all their lives and so the money is already there, sitting in a vault somewhere. Their kids have grown up with this situation too and want, expect and demand the same for them in due course. Their grandchildren have been born into foreign holidays two car families and X Box Playstation childhoods MEW to the hilt and to hell with the future. The 70s taught us it didn't matter - inflation will sort it out anyway.

No, I personally have never in my life met anyone that really wants a "free market".

[Tired of Waiting]

It is completely free, though I think they just signed a deal with one of the satellite channels to make some new stuff for TV, though that's exactly how these things should work; Make some great free stuff and get a TV deal

You'll probably know Llewellyn as the guy from Red Dwarf and Scrapheap Challenge

He get's some proper A-lister's to interview in his car;

http://www.llewtube.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/carpoolUK

Thanks!

Back to the future of the City, Andrew Neil interviewed City Am Editor Allister Heath, and he is worried.

I linked the video here: http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=152328&view=findpost&p=2736136