The BNP argues that financial regulation should be massively increased, that we should “shut down the city” and in the process rid the country of the ““Financial services” … parasites that generate no real wealth.”
The City has never been less popular in modern Britain, but the BNP’s populism ignores the massive hole that would be blown in the British economy from losing the banks altogether. In a typical year financial services contributes around 7.5-10.8% of GDP in Britain, paying £67.8 bn in taxes in the financial year ending 31 March 2007 alone, 13.9% of the UK total. That’s just over a £1,000 each.
These figures of course pre-date the current economic crisis and we have recently learnt that, no, we haven’t quite ended booms and busts. Financial bubbles will probably always be will with us, and we still have not yet solved difficult questions about balancing innovation, risk and moral hazard.
However, that doesn’t mean we should shut down the City altogether. It is increasingly clear that the vast majority of the money lent to the banks will be paid back. This isn’t the first financial bubble we’ve been through, and in the long term our economy has always rebounded. Much of the UK’s current fiscal difficulties come precisely because in the past we enjoyed so much tax revenue from the financial services. Without that money, our whole economy suffers.
The BNP’s policies would hit the city in multiple ways. Not only would there be a massive increase in regulation, but their immigration policies would expel all foreign bankers and their nationalistic policies close down foreign capital inflows.
Finance is a highly mobile industry. Companies that have chosen to locate here could just as easily switch to Geneva or Singapore. In an economy where companies can no longer innovate, hire the best workers and suffer under an atmosphere of hate that thinks of them as little more than ‘parasites’, there seems little reason to stick around.
The consequences of that wouldn’t just hurt rich bankers, but hit the rest of us just as hard. Everything that the city’s money had paid for, whether it be our taxes and public services, the jobs they’d funded or our charities that they’d supported would find themselves short of cash.
Long before the financial crisis, extremist ultra-nationalists were enemies of the City. Partly this is as they see international capital flows as a threat to national independence. But part of it also comes from a more worrying anti-Semitism, which sees global capitalism as some mass Jewish conspiracy. In the 1930s, the attack was often on the Jewish capitalist. Today, the BNP uses what it calls ‘banksters’ rather than “Jewish financial capitalism” as their chosen scapegoat, but much of the rhetoric remains little different.
Neither has the anti-Semitism strain completely disappeared from European fascism. In October 2008 at Jobbik’s commemoration ceremony attended by Simon Darby, Roberto Fiori, a long term ally and close personal friend of Nick Griffin, in a speech, attacking free markets and usury claimed:
“This is the same capitalism that is pushing thousands and millions towards poverty. But it is lead from the same people who put Christ on the cross!”
We are currently seeing the results of what happens to our economy when our financial services are in trouble. The BNP’s reactionary anti city policies would ensure this remains a permanent condition.
Tags: anti-Semitism, policy
Backing bankers, another Conservative vote winner?
Either the next government (which won’t be the BNP) stops the excesses of the bankers or it doesn’t.
If the former happens then some will possibly go where rules are more relaxed & remember the EU will possibly force you to do it anyway or the whole scenario happens again, with more disastrous results.
I don’t think we are safe yet anyway, Labour may well have propped up the system but maybe that’ll only last until about July 2010.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Ashley Mote (EU): “Mr President, I wish to draw your attention to the Global Security Fund, set up in the early 1990s under the auspices of Jacob Rothschild. This is a Brussels-based fund and it is no ordinary fund: it does not trade, it is not listed and it has a totally different purpose. It is being used for geopolitical engineering purposes, apparently under the guidance of the intelligence services.” “I have previously asked about the alleged involvement of the European Union’s own intelligence resources in the management of slush funds in offshore accounts, and I still await a reply. To that question I now add another: what are the European Union’s connections to the Global Security Fund and what relationship does it have with European Union institutions? “Recently, Ashley Mote of the European Union (EU) asked this volatile question in a public EU meeting, a question never answered, as Mr. Mote, merely by asking this question, was immediately scratched from the White House Christmas card list.
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The too big to fail will become the too fat to feed, the BNP will be well placed for the real backlash.
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Could I have a link to that Roberto Fiori quote please?
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Hi Exile -
the link is http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x766z0_discours-roberto-fiore-a-budapest-m_news
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There is some accented English in it!
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The BNPs rhetoric regarding the City, merely reflects the increasing public anger and incredulation at the obscene bonuses paid to dime-a-dozen bankers, who do nothing to stimulate actual job creation or wealth of any nation.
At least entrepenuers and businessmen create wealth; bankers are leeches, who’s presence in any business transaction merely adds percentage points to any interest repayment.
NBs dogged defence of Bankers shows how out of touch the Torys are with the struggles of post industrial Britain. Not to mention the arrogance at the prospect of a certain victory at the next election.
Vote BNP and keep the bastards honest!
Hot debate. What do you think?
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This shows the tories in their true light, they are only concerned with the chosen few, they care nothing for the normal British citizen!
Well done NB for exposing the conservative party’s real agenda – conserving the extravagant lifestyles of the corrupt and fraudulent at our expense…
And heres me thinking this site was supposed to be a whistle-blower on the BNP!
Silly me, keep up the good work Jim, Maurice and co.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Yeah, I am starting to believe that NB is actually a BNP front, because all it does is encourage people to vote for the party. Take an earlier posting where they say that if the BNP’s industrial policy was put in place thousands would have to leave their existing jobs to take up new ones in industry.
So I started to think about my nephews in Nelson who all do McJobs for a fiver an hour and decided that they would probably relish the chance to do a proper job. So would millions like them come to think about it.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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maybe a BNP front, but i bet Maurice wears a bowler hat.
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Some bowlered hatted people wear aprons too……
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Very droll. In English.
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Whats Roberto Fiore got to do with greedy bankers?
Lord Bethell told us off for going off subject and removed our posts…
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2 NB articles today: “White boys suffer under New Labour” and “MCB should also shoulder blame for extremism”
Both could quite easily be construed as pro-BNP, the second article even provoked an angry reaction from some muslim bloke LOL!
I’m also beginning to think this is a BNP front group!
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If you watch 12th july marches in Belfast you will see some very strange looking men in bowler hats and suits,all loyal to britain though…weirdos
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