When the bankers’ bonus cap was lifted last year, you reported Paul Novack, the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, saying “City financiers are already raking it in. They don’t need another leg-up from the Tories” (Tories fuelling ‘greed is good’ with lift of cap on bankers’ bonuses, says TUC, 31 October).
Now Rachel Reeves promises similar support from Labour (Frustration in Labour ranks over Reeves’s refusal to reinstate bankers’ bonus cap, 1 February). How different from her response in the Commons when Kwasi Kwarteng announced his plan: “Of all the things that he could save from the wreckage of the kamikaze budget that he chooses to press ahead with, it is their plan to lift the cap on bankers’ bonuses. At a time when he is urging wage constraints for everybody else, how can he remotely claim that that is fair?”
Unless Labour is now urging wage increases for everyone else, it is very sad and damaging if the party commits to retaining one of the few legacies of Liz Truss’s premiership.
Mike Sheaff
Plymouth
• When Labour supporters go knocking on doors, I wonder how many report back and say: “You know what people are asking for? They are asking for there to be no cap on bankers’ bonuses.” My guess is none. So who was asking for this? This outrageous decision by the shadow chancellor fuels the belief of many who say they don’t know what Labour stands for, given that Labour has previously criticised the Tories for removing the cap, saying they were out of touch with the public. For me, this could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, and I may well resign from the Labour party.
Barry Norman
Drighlington, West Yorkshire
• If this is a sign that Rachel Reeves wants to rebuild the economy based on being a leading financial services centre, someone needs to tell her that we’ve been there before and we don’t want to go back. On the other hand, the green investment plan that appears to be downgraded by her with each new mention is forward-looking and urgent, and continues to attract widespread support. She should be leading the economic challenges by inviting critics to answer the question: an economy built on dealing with money or one that sets out to build resilience in the face of accelerating climate change? It’s a no-brainer.
Les Bright
Exeter
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