Following last month’s reports that
the Government was considering buying the outstanding 17 per cent of Royal Bank
of Scotland (RBS), The Liberal Democrats have now backed proposals to break RBS
up into a series of local and community banks. The Sustainable Jobs and Policy
paper was passed in a vote at the Lib Dem party conference in Brighton
on Tuesday. Instigated earlier this year by Business Secretary Vince Cable, the policy motion
was proposed by Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister
Nick Clegg, MP Duncan Hames.
Lib Dem Treasury spokeswoman
Baroness Susan Kramer called on the Treasury to consider breaking up both state-owned
and privately-owned banks. She said: “We have one or two albatrosses. The
notion that we were going to sell off the banks for a substantial profit very
quickly has long gone out of the window. Is there a more constructive way to
use them? I don’t know enough to say breaking them up is the answer but I feel
strongly that the Treasury should be looking very, very closely at the option.”
The policy motion also supports
other initiatives, ensuring improved access to credit, relaxed capital rules for
start-up businesses and a statutory responsibility to encourage banking diversity.
The only question one might
ask is; are the Lib Dems being revolutionary or is this something we already
knew?
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