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Diary: no sympathy for Barclays from the chancellor of the exchequer Diary: no sympathy for Barclays from the chancellor of the exchequer
(7 months later)
• Pity poor Antony Jenkins as he tours the TV and radio studios proclaiming the rebirth and collective repentance under way at Barclays, the bank he seeks to rehabilitate. With the Libor scandal and the ever-toxic issue of fat-cat pay, there is a big job to do. Some question whether Jenkins is indeed a big enough character to do it. He's a dogged type, so we wish him well; but as he toils, the irritation will be that he knows the wounds the bank inflicted upon itself were entirely predictable and unnecessary. For as far back as 2009, the bank was being privately warned by no less a figure than George Osborne, then shadow chancellor, now the top man at the Treasury, that left unaddressed the issue of fat-cat pay would play very badly at Westminster and would blow up in their faces. They didn't listen. The rest we know. George really did know what he was talking about. We may never have cause to say that again.• Pity poor Antony Jenkins as he tours the TV and radio studios proclaiming the rebirth and collective repentance under way at Barclays, the bank he seeks to rehabilitate. With the Libor scandal and the ever-toxic issue of fat-cat pay, there is a big job to do. Some question whether Jenkins is indeed a big enough character to do it. He's a dogged type, so we wish him well; but as he toils, the irritation will be that he knows the wounds the bank inflicted upon itself were entirely predictable and unnecessary. For as far back as 2009, the bank was being privately warned by no less a figure than George Osborne, then shadow chancellor, now the top man at the Treasury, that left unaddressed the issue of fat-cat pay would play very badly at Westminster and would blow up in their faces. They didn't listen. The rest we know. George really did know what he was talking about. We may never have cause to say that again.
• Forward with Boris is the mantra from supporters of the London mayor, meanwhile, but in some respects the capital seems to be going backwards. Lots of talk and committees, but precious little has emerged so far in terms of infrastructure improvements for the future. By contrast, Sunday sees the 10th anniversary of the congestion charge, the pioneering traffic control scheme introduced by his Labour predecessor, Kenneth Livingstone. Socially, there seem to be problematic issues too, not least the notable fact that City Hall is revealed to have tried and failed to gain itself the kudos of being placed within the top 100 of the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index. The failure raises eyebrows because in 2008 City Hall was second placed, only just failing to secure top spot. Critics have long accused the Johnson administration of failing to do much in the area of equalities, an accusation much disputed. But with the latest revelation, unearthed via an FoI by London assembly member Tom Copley, the unfortunate finger-pointing will only get worse.• Forward with Boris is the mantra from supporters of the London mayor, meanwhile, but in some respects the capital seems to be going backwards. Lots of talk and committees, but precious little has emerged so far in terms of infrastructure improvements for the future. By contrast, Sunday sees the 10th anniversary of the congestion charge, the pioneering traffic control scheme introduced by his Labour predecessor, Kenneth Livingstone. Socially, there seem to be problematic issues too, not least the notable fact that City Hall is revealed to have tried and failed to gain itself the kudos of being placed within the top 100 of the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index. The failure raises eyebrows because in 2008 City Hall was second placed, only just failing to secure top spot. Critics have long accused the Johnson administration of failing to do much in the area of equalities, an accusation much disputed. But with the latest revelation, unearthed via an FoI by London assembly member Tom Copley, the unfortunate finger-pointing will only get worse.
• Yes, they'll carp and moan and say that the mayor of a diverse capital isn't entirely comfortable with difference. And one suspects they'll flag up a politically incorrect reference to Johnson in last week's lengthy article about the business magnate and New York mayor Michael Bloomberg in the New York Times. "When the mayors met for the first time, Mr Johnson recalled, Mr Bloomberg kept talking about transfats. 'I didn't know what transfats were,' Mr Johnson said, a glint in his eye. 'I thought it had something to do with transsexuals, obese transsexuals, or something.' Anyway, he made a great deal about that." No wonder Boris didn't make the Stonewall 100. What chance he'll make it next year?• Yes, they'll carp and moan and say that the mayor of a diverse capital isn't entirely comfortable with difference. And one suspects they'll flag up a politically incorrect reference to Johnson in last week's lengthy article about the business magnate and New York mayor Michael Bloomberg in the New York Times. "When the mayors met for the first time, Mr Johnson recalled, Mr Bloomberg kept talking about transfats. 'I didn't know what transfats were,' Mr Johnson said, a glint in his eye. 'I thought it had something to do with transsexuals, obese transsexuals, or something.' Anyway, he made a great deal about that." No wonder Boris didn't make the Stonewall 100. What chance he'll make it next year?
• An invitation arrives to the Welsh government's St David's Day London reception. It's on 28 February, even though St David's Day is 1 March. Perhaps it endures into the early hours. More curiously, the reception is taking place in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office HQ in Whitehall. Does this mean that Wales is now recognised as a foreign country? Alex Salmond and his Scottish nationalists would kill to have a St Andrew's Day reception in the Foreign Office and, for that reason more than any other, the wise heads of the Foreign Office would never let them near the party bunting. They know Salmond of old; he never lets a good act of symbolism go to waste.• An invitation arrives to the Welsh government's St David's Day London reception. It's on 28 February, even though St David's Day is 1 March. Perhaps it endures into the early hours. More curiously, the reception is taking place in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office HQ in Whitehall. Does this mean that Wales is now recognised as a foreign country? Alex Salmond and his Scottish nationalists would kill to have a St Andrew's Day reception in the Foreign Office and, for that reason more than any other, the wise heads of the Foreign Office would never let them near the party bunting. They know Salmond of old; he never lets a good act of symbolism go to waste.
• Finally, what japes are planned for next Tuesday when Marine Le Pen, new doyenne of the French far right, pitches up at the Cambridge Union? Organisers, well knowing the complications that accompany such an invitation, promise to "discuss, debate and challenge" their controversial guest. And that's assuming she reaches the debating chamber. For 10 years ago, when her father trod the same path, he who declared the Holocaust "a detail of history" had to contend with a barrage of abuse. Demonstrators assailed his car, which had its windscreen smashed, and officers were forced to secure the Cambridge Union building to prevent proceedings from being overrun. We're told a similarly "vigourous" response is being planned for his daughter. Much has changed in the past decade, but Marine Le Pen may find that, in this regard, much has stayed the same. • Finally, what japes are planned for next Tuesday when Marine Le Pen, new doyenne of the French far right, pitches up at the Cambridge Union? Organisers, well knowing the complications that accompany such an invitation, promise to "discuss, debate and challenge" their controversial guest. And that's assuming she reaches the debating chamber. For 10 years ago, when her father trod the same path, he who declared the Holocaust "a detail of history" had to contend with a barrage of abuse. Demonstrators assailed his car, which had its windscreen smashed, and officers were forced to secure the Cambridge Union building to prevent proceedings from being overrun. We're told a similarly "vigourous" response is being planned for his daughter. Much has changed in the past decade, but Marine Le Pen may find that, in this regard, much has stayed the same.
Twitter: @hugh_muirTwitter: @hugh_muir
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