Here's one for Gordon

Mervyn King, Wulfrunian and governor of the Bank of England, made a speech last night pointing out that the banks have us over a barrel now. They can, he said, take even stupider risks now, because there's less competition, and they know that the taxpayer will always bail them out.

The solutions, he said, are to break up the bigger banks, so that ones that fail don't wreck the whole economy, and to separate investment banking from retail (bank accounts and mortgages). All sound good sense: the oil monopolies were broken in the early years of the 20th century in the US, and Glass-Steagal, introduced in the post-Depression years, similarly separated banking functions.

Will the government enact these sensible reforms? Don't be an idiot. That would take radical thinking, which in this government is reserved for bashing its natural supporters - trades unions, the poor etc.

The questions I really want to address to my party leaders are these:
You made speeches for 15 years about the need to let the markets do whatever they want. You reduced regulation, turned a blind eye to tax evasion and said you were 'intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich'. The banks have now crashed. You gave them all our money. They're now making even more money, but they're not lending to us or paying tax. Additionally, you're saying that because you've given all our money to the banks, the people who have already lost their jobs or are struggling, are going to suffer even more. The people who need Meals on Wheels, a decent public library, good state schools, good hospitals. You, and your banker friends don't use these services, and won't notice their decline.

Why is it OK to make us suffer to ensure that banks continue to make massive profits, which they salt away offshore?

Where, seriously, are the Labour values in all of this? Where, for god's sake, is the idea that government is the people's collective will to care for each other? What are you for?