Gordon Brown and the age of irresponsibility (part 2)

Following my last post, people have said to me "Goaty, but this plan wasn't about financial services but the general economy; maybe we should give Gordon Brown the benefit of the doubt, maybe he always was worried about a lack of City regulation." That is a point, it's wrong of course, but it is a point.

From The Treasury website comes the text of Gordon Brown's Mansion House speech in June 2007. Here are some extracts (my emphasis):

"Over the ten years that I have had the privilege of addressing you as Chancellor, I have been able year by year to record how the City of London has risen by your efforts, ingenuity and creativity to become a new world leader.

Now today over 40 per cent of the world's foreign equities are traded here, more than New York:

* over 30 per cent of the world's currencies exchanges take place here, more than New York and Tokyo combined,
* while New York and Tokyo are reliant mainly on their large American and Asian domestic markets, 80 per cent of our business is international, and
* in a study last week of the top 50 financial cities, the City of London came first.

So I congratulate you Lord Mayor and the City of London on these remarkable achievements, an era that history will record as the beginning of a new golden age for the City of London.

And I believe the lesson we learn from the success of the City has ramifications far beyond the City itself - that we are leading because we are first in putting to work exactly that set of qualities that is needed for global success:

* openness to the world and global reach,
* pioneers of free trade and its leading defenders,
* with a deep and abiding belief in open markets,
* champions of diversity in ownership and talent, and of flexibility and adaptability to change, and
* a basic faith that from wherever it comes and from whatever background, what matters is that the talent, ingenuity and potential of people is harnessed to drive performance.

And I believe it will be said of this age, the first decades of the 21st century, that out of the greatest restructuring of the global economy, perhaps even greater than the industrial revolution, a new world order was created.

...

So let me say as I begin my new job, I want to continue to work with you in helping you do yours, listening to what you say, always recognising your international success is critical to that of Britain's overall and considering together the things that we must do - and, just as important, things we should not do - to maintain our competitiveness:

* enhancing a risk based regulatory approach, as we did in resisting pressure for a British Sarbannes-Oxley after Enron and Worldcom...

...

The financial services sector in Britain and the City of London at the centre of it, is a great example of a highly skilled, high value added, talent driven industry that shows how we can excel in a world of global competition. Britain needs more of the vigour, ingenuity and aspiration that you already demonstrate that is the hallmark of your success."

Remember these extracts the next time a Labour mouthpiece makes spurious claims.