Tribune – Comment, news and reviews from Britain's democratic left

Barclays boss Bob Diamond told a Treasury Committee hearing that taxpayers should not bail out banks, and that those banks which get into trouble should be allowed to fail. Fair enough, but perhaps taxpayers can have their money back before the likes of the Royal Bank of Scotland go the way of the unlamented Lehman Brothers. Barclays, it may be recalled, avoided the need for largesse from the British public by jumping into the substantial pockets of the royal families of Qatar and Abu Dhabi rual families At the time, Vince Cable, then the Liberal Democrats’ Treasury spokesman, called the deal “a scandal of monumental proportions”. But he may think something entirely different now. He may have to ask the Prime Minister what precisely that is.

According to Labour, approximately 14,500 police jobs in England and Wales will be lost as a result of spending cuts. So who is going to do the kettling if the rozzers think that’s a diabolical liberty and decide to go round to the Prime Minister’s gaff and turn over his drum?  Send in the army? Unfortunately, 500 soldiers may also be redeployed to the jobcentre while the number of army tanks could be cut from 400 to 50. That might not put the top brass in a good mood. Outsource any difficulties to the French Foreign Legion, then. Where some see a problem, others see a business opportunity.