BBC is not happy with the news that Barclay’s have made the decision to appoint Bob Diamond as Chief Executive. I caught the 6pm news on Radio 4 and the boot was being firmly put in, with an anonymous”senior Coalition” source leading the critique. All the usual “casino banking” and “bonus culture” tropes were thrown in. How very DARE Barclays appoint someone with a track record of making money as the CEO? Pesto is leading the charge.
A DIAMOND GEEZER
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Peston has had it in for Diamond and Barclays for quite some time now.
http://www.google.com/search?q=peston+diamond+barclays+site%3Abbc.co.uk&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#q=peston+diamond+barclays+site:bbc.co.uk&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=2UO&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=o&ei=lYeGTKm_NYOKlwewy9XPDg&start=10&sa=N&fp=d331bd8e2d0de10c
Euphemisms like “obscene bonuses” and “casino” are peppered throughout Peston’s musings on him and the bank. He’s been like a broken record on this for ages.
On the World at One they said that he was the “unacceptable face of banking” according to… (wait for it)…Peter Mandelson.
I also loved the Radio 4 9am news saying he might be paid “as much as” £11.5million. Did you ever hear them saying Jonathan Ross might be being paid “as much as ” anything?
What has it got to do with anyone apart from Barclays shareholders? What is it with the BBC that they think “distribution of wealth” is normal? This has been tried and it does not benefit anyone. The BBC are old fasioned communists who think money should be doled out to everyone from the public purse and their share should be the greatest. (viz Animal Farm) But they forget the public service does not create wealth. I loathe this constant whinge by the BBC because someone is succesful. How about Comrade Byford giving us some of his pot?
Peston is playing his usual game of “the taxpayers bailed out all the banks, so have a vested interest in how they behave now”. It’s a standard theme on his blog. Except the taxpayers didn’t bail out Barclays – mostly the Arabs and others did.
Peston is just assuming that everyone is labouring under the misapprehension – reinforced in the minds of the public at every opportunity by the BBC – that all banks, full stop, caused the economic crisis and that the taxpayers had to bail them all out, full stop, and so the poor working class is forced to suffer for them. Think about how many times have you heard some talking head on the news or some Question Time audience member or panelist from the Left make that claim. He knows most people are too caught up in his and the BBC’s Narrative to know better and catch him out.
You could sum up the BBCs output in 2 phrases:
Greedy Bankers and Global Warming.
Most of the BBCs propagandist output has one or the other.
“If the climate doesn’t kill you the Bankers will”.
I’m sure the real story won’t emerge for 20 odd years but didn’t Barclays upset Mandelson and the entire narrative by turning down a bail out during the crisis ?
Weirdly politicians seem determined to learn the wrong lesson from this crisis. The 2 big retail banking survivors Barclays and HSBC did so because they had big investment banking operations and weren’t handing out 110% mortgages on over priced buy to let “investment” flats in British city centres.
The thing I can never work out is are the politicians thick or do they just play along with the mob they created ?
Both.
Exactly right. And Peston is acting like they were part of the problem, had to be bailed out by the taxpayer, and so Barclays are now acting immorally. Peston sticks to the same song he’s been singing for almost two years now, regardless of facts.
Actually, Barclays was bailed out in part by taxpayers – of Abu Dabhi.
Amusingly, the universal Darling on yesterday’s Daily Politics spoke up in favour of Diamond, departing from the script.
Perhaps Peston would care to tell us how much he is paid ?
Never heard the BBC moan about the unrepresentative Cathy Ashton or Manuel Barossa did we? These puppets of the EU were shooed in without a mandate from anyone,and can at least expect that Diamond( a name for our times eh?) has been put in by shareholders in some way. Any chance of we Beeb stakeholders being able to vote on Pestos salary package?…or at least drive a stake through the BBC empire which brays so predictably. The more the Beeb and Mandelson etc hate it-the more correct it obviously is! Pay him more Barclays!