March on the Metropolis: On Friday 10 October 2008 a number of hundred anti-capitalist protesters, primarily college students, took to the streets of the Metropolis of London to say “We Gained’t Bail Out the Bankers’.
The monetary disaster had began in 2007, however reached a climax with the chapter of Lehman Brothers on September 15 2008 which precipitated a world banking disaster.
Wikipedia units out the causes of the disaster in some element, however primarily US banks had been allowed to make extra dangerous loans by modifications in US legal guidelines which loosened laws and allowed banks to participate in excessive threat operations resembling proprietary buying and selling and funding banking.
Within the US one results of this was the proliferation of mortgage loans to folks on low incomes who may actually not afford the repayments and ultimately defaulted. The issues with ‘subprime mortgages‘ notably given to many in minority communities within the USA got here to a head as a increase in US home costs within the early 2000s was adopted by a pointy drop within the worth of properties which have been the safety for the loans.
As Wikipedia feedback, “governments deployed huge bail-outs of monetary establishments and different palliative financial and financial insurance policies to stop a collapse of the worldwide monetary system.” This resulted within the widespread feeling that those that had created the disaster have been being rewarded for his or her failures.
Within the UK, the New Labour authorities underneath George Brown made a huge monetary intervention, paying £137 billion to the banks in loans and new capital, a few of which was later recouped, however leaving a value of £33 billion. Whereas some help was essential to keep away from a complete breakdown of the monetary system, many felt that the federal government ought to have taken a firmer line and that these accountable ought to have needed to pay for his or her errors and to not appear to have stored their extremely paid jobs.
Each Northern Rock – the primary UK financial institution to fail in July 2007 and Bradford & Bingley have been taken into public possession, and RBS/Nat West into majority public possession. However RBS nonetheless ended up costing us £35.5 billion – and the main bankers nonetheless ended up getting big salaries and massive bonuses. The Royal Financial institution of Scotland appeared to be getting off scot free.
A part of the issues we nonetheless see in monetary markets got here from modifications worldwide in the best way that buying and selling now takes place. Within the UK Margaret Thatcher had introduced within the ‘Massive Bang’ which abolished conventional practices and launched digital buying and selling, enormously growing volatility.
On My London Diary I give a reasonably full account of the particular protest which began at Financial institution the place some protesters tried to storm into the Royal Trade – lengthy only a status purchasing centre – and the Financial institution of England however have been simply stopped by police.
There then adopted a sluggish march round elements of the Metropolis, with police trying to cease them at numerous factors and the marchers pushing their means via police strains.
As my photos present, there was some relatively forceful policing at occasions and among the press additionally suffered with the protesters. As I write, “I bought a number of bruises and my glasses have been broken when police rushed in as I used to be taking photos in Lombard St.” However there was not one of the confrontational use of educated riot squads which have led to excessive violence at some protests policed by the Met. Policing right here was by the Metropolis of London Police – together with a visitor look by one French cop.
Ultimately there was a brief rally with a number of speeches on the nook of Bishopsgate and London Wall after which the demonstrators dispersed. Police appeared pretty relaxed on the finish of the protest and I noticed no arrests.
I don’t assume the protest bought a lot if any protection within the mass media and most accounts I learn on-line have been confused, with many suggesting it went to the Inventory Trade. Whereas which may have been a logical place to protest, the marchers truly went in the wrong way.
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Tags: 2008, Financial institution, bankers, bankers bonuses, Massive Bang, bonuses, Bradford & Bingley, Metropolis, Metropolis of London, digital buying and selling, monetary crash, monetary disaster, extremely paid, Lehman Bros, Llooyds, Lombard St, London, march, March on the Metropolis, Margaret Thatcher, NatWest, Northern Rock, peter Marshall, police, protest, RBS, rewarded for failures, dangerous loans, Royal Trade, subprime mortgages
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