Category Archives: Northern Rock

Under this government you don’t get much for £1 billion these days. You can soon blow a £100 million on fees for advice on a financial matter, and can get through many times that on a centralised computer contract or good pay rises all round for public sector workers. I expect the political classes will [...]

I have posted the full transcript of the one hour debate we were allowed on Thursday on Northern Rock, because it illustrates just how damaged Parliament has been by the constant use of timetable motions that are unrealistic. The Lords passed three amendments to Labour’s bank nationalisation Bill. One wanted the Freedom of Information Act [...]

In Northern Rock’s 2006 Accounts they reported how well they were doing. They commented “ The low risk nature of Northern Rock’s balance sheet is reflected in the mix of assets…These assets are well funded through a well diversified range of assets.” They looked forward to further low risk growth, and told their shareholders that [...]

Yesterday saw another successful government attempt to stifle debate and prevent serious consideration of an important billon bank nationalisation. I was left with just six minutes to try to discuss all the wide ranging issues involved during the Second Reading debate on the principles, whilst the perfunctory two and a quarter hour committee stage left [...]

I am a businessman by background. I have occasionally bought or sold companies. Never have I been asked to buy a company with so little information available on its assets, liabilities, past and possible future performance as today, when the government wants me to approve the purchase of Northern Rock for taxpayers. Never have I [...]

The Northern Rock crisis has undermined this government’s economic reputation, and deservedly so. They have made mistake after mistake in responding the Credit Crunch and the run on the bank. I have put the main blog entries on Northern Rock from this site together so people can remind themselves of the way the crisis unfolded [...]

Mr Darling is already in a big hole, thanks to his misjudgements over monetary policy last August and September, the run on Northern Rock, the botched proposals on capital gains tax and the U turn on Non Doms. Now, the man in the hole has decided to more than double its size! There are ten [...]

The Bank of England yesterday bowed to the inevitable and warned us that we will become worse off this year. Many people already feel worse off, after the huge increases in food and energy costs that we have experienced in recent months. There was no apology for leaving credit too loose a couple of years [...]

I welcome the government’s decision to place the Northern Rock debt on the government’s own balance sheet. It always belonged there, as the Bank of England is wholly owned by the Treasury on behalf of taxpayers. It is there as a reminder of the importance of getting this money back as quickly as possible. It [...]

Today I learn that the Chancellor has become a mortgage salesman again. He is lecturing us to take long term mortgages at fixed rates. Has no-one reminded him that his government has made mortgage selling a regulated activity? I doubt if the Chancellor has bothered to fix himself up with the necessary regulatory approvals to [...]