The Death of Thatcherism

The lambasting of HSBC by the US Senate Sub-committee on Investigations drives yet another nail into the coffin of the already discredited UK banking and financial services industry. Slowly, inexorably, as surely as with biological death, the UK financial services industry is dying. Killed by its own hand, gleefully assisted, like Caesar’s assassins, by others hoping to gain from its demise.

What we are also witnessing, thank goodness, is the end of Thatcherism. The loosing of the reins on money supply, otherwise known as quantitative easing, brought an end to Monetarism, and with it, discredit for the woman still feted by many as the saviour of the UK. What now though?

The UK has little to rely on now that we no longer, effectively, have a manufacturing industry. Catastrophic shrinkage of the financial services industry, will almost certainly adversely affect the whole service-industry-based UK economy. The trouble is, the current government seems almost clueless, and serious fissures are appearing in the coalition as it flails around aimlessly. Serious investment is needed, and now! The recent nine billion pledged for the northern rail infrastructure is a mere raindrop in comparison with the ocean of funding that is required to get the country out of this mess. The joint announcement by Cameron and Clegg was just cynical media fodder, designed to prop up an already terminal partnership.

The one positive aspect of the current situation is that, although we have a coalition government, it is a firm Tory hand on the tiller, and they will be the ones who get the blame. The image of Thatcher below, weeping as she was booted out of Downing Street is likely to be replicated again, sooner rather than later, I think. It only remains to be seen what the Labour Party does to prepare itself. Is Ed Milliband up to the job? Mmmm, perhaps, but I think not!