Early day motion 391
That this House welcomes the decision of Her Excellency President Patil of India to postpone the execution of Balwant Singh Rajoana, and very much hopes that the process to execute him will not be re-started; considers the use of the death penalty to be a cruel and inhumane punishment; is encouraged to see both that there hasbeen a moratorium on theuse of the death penalty in India since 2004, and also that more countries are moving towards its abolition; believes that because of the strong ties between Britain and India it is suitable to express this request to the Indian Parliament; and hopes that the Indian Parliament will see fit to ask Her Excellency President Patil to exercise her prerogative of mercy on Balwant Singh Rajoana and all others on death row who face such an uncertain fate.
LIBOR (FSA Investigation) Debate
Mr Roger Godsiff (Birmingham, Hall Green) (Lab): After the nationwide disturbances last year, a student was given a six-month sentence for stealing a pack of water bottles. What punishment does the Chancellor believe would be appropriate for bankers who have stolen millions of pounds from investors through rigging interest rates?
Mr Osborne: I completely understand and sympathise with the sentiment that the hon. Gentleman is expressing: people suffer criminal penalties for offences involving much, much smaller sums of money—a fraction of the sums that we are talking about. The Serious Fraud Office, which is independent of the Government, is looking at the matter. Let us wait to hear what it has to say. It is looking at what laws are available to let it do that. I am sure that he would not want the Government of the day to undertake the criminal prosecutions themselves.
Professional Standards in the Banking Industry Debate
5 July 2012
Mr Roger Godsiff (Birmingham, Hall Green) (Lab): I strongly support the proposal for a judicial inquiry. I am sure that under the hon. Member for Chichester (Mr Tyrie) a parliamentary inquiry will do its best, but I think that for the reasons that have been advanced today there is a need for a judicial inquiry, because as the hon. Member for Dundee East (Stewart Hosie) and the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden (Mr Davis) have said, this issue goes way beyond fiddling the LIBOR rate. This is a much bigger issue, and it is the bigger issue that needs to be addressed.
Whether the inquiry is parliamentary or judicial, I have concerns about the continual emphasis on the need to do something about the culture and standards of banking, because it implies that if we change the people at the top of banking we will change the behaviour. Would that were the case. I do not believe that it is. There are of course many people who work in banks who do an excellent job. They work very hard, they do not get paid a great deal of money or share in massive bonuses, and they are as disgusted as we are by what has gone on, but even if the most pious, puritanical person is put in charge of a den of inequity, they will eventually be corrupted.
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That is what happens when someone is put on a trading floor, and I speak as somebody who worked in a bank. Many years ago I worked for Coutts, when it did what traditional retail banks did—what the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (John Thurso) described, and what the general public want. But if somebody is put on a trading floor and deals in obscure derivatives and other financial products, they will be either corrupted by what goes on, crushed by their peers or, if he or she is very brave, turned into a whistleblower.
Of course, there is a culture in banking that needs to be looked at—the culture of remuneration and bonuses. However, it is not just banking that has a culture whereby somebody who is paid to do a job, such as a nurse, teacher or bank clerk, and then expects to get a massive great bonus for doing it, irrespective of whether they do it well or badly. This is far removed from the lives of the general public because of the amounts of money being talked about. Bob Diamond has earned £100 million, and if he walks away the question is whether he will get £20 million. Twenty million pounds is way beyond what the vast majority of our constituents can expect to earn in a lifetime, even if we add in their pension pots, so we are talking about a surreal world as far as the wider public are concerned.
To be fair to the Business Secretary, he has said that the problem can be addressed through shareholder power. That is naïve, however, because the biggest shareholders of public companies are the institutions—and many of the people in those institutions sit on other boards, so it all becomes an incestuous circle. Different remuneration committees can consist of the same people. It all comes down to, “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine.”
If the Government were serious about making radical changes to the culture that I have just referred to, they could do worse than limit the number of directorships of publicly quoted companies that any one person can have. They could also change the rules so that the remuneration committees of all publicly quoted companies had a majority of small shareholders. That would really send shock waves across the institutions, but not the shareholders, who would welcome the opportunity.
Time is running out. We need to change not just the culture but the structure of banking. In 1986, the wild west came back—all the firewalls and protections put in place following the previous financial crisis in 1929 were swept away. We are all responsible in some part for that; we created the masters of the universe, who have not done us any favours. We have to go back to basics and reconstruct a banking system that is fit for purpose, serves the people and is not self-serving for a small minority.
Wednesday, 23 May 2012
I am opposed to the increase Fuel Duty on petrol and diesel from the 1st August which will push up the price of petrol and diesel by approximately 16p a gallon.
I have signed the Amendment to the Finance Act which would stop this rise going ahead because I believe, particularly at this moment in time, the placing yet another burden on hard-pressed families and small businesses cannot be justified.
The Coalition Government is seeking to raise extra revenue to reduce the financial deficit and an increase in Fuel Duty is going to impact severely on many businesses and will lead to less economic activity while also taking more money out of the pockets of consumers. This will depress even more the desperate need for growth in the economy and will merely increase Government borrowing because there will be more people out of work and therefore less tax being paid while unemployment expenditure will increase.
Roger has welcomed the £5,000 reward offered by the crime fighting charity Crimestoppers for information regarding the attack on the 94 year old, Emma Winnall who lives in Pensby Close, Moseley.
Roger said: “The attack on this defenceless elderly lady while she was asleep in her home was absolutely outrageous and the individual, or individuals, involved must be tracked down and brought before the Courts.
The senseless attack was without any purpose whatsoever because nothing appears to have been stolen and in view of the fact that there appears to have been no forced entry into the property it would appear that the intruder may have had access to the property before.
The ferocity of the attack and the senseless nature of it is beyond belief and could only have been carried out by an individual, or individuals, who cannot be described as normal human beings.
I would urge anybody who has suspicions about who could have carried out the attack to share their information with the local Police or Crimestoppers as soon as possible.”
I was one of the co-Chairs of the All Party ‘No campaign’ which was campaigning against the Referendum on whether Birmingham should have an ‘elected Mayor’. The Referendum was imposed by the Coalition Government on the people of Birmingham.
I welcome the fact that the people of Birmingham voted overwhelmingly (58% to 42%) against the proposal for an elected Mayor. As I said on numerous occasions at various meetings during the campaign the concept of concentrating power in the hands of one individual was dangerous.
The No campaign set out the ten clear reasons why we asked the people of Birmingham to vote against the proposal whereas the ‘Yes campaign’ – supported by elements within the Chamber of Commerce; the Birmingham Post and Mail; Lord Heseltine and Lord Adonis; and assorted individuals who wanted to be Mayor – took it for granted that there would be a ‘Yes’ majority and hardly bothered to advance any coherent reasons why the people of Birmingham should support such a proposal.
The Coalition Government were very keen to get a ‘Yes’ vote and the Electoral Commission, to their shame, devised a ballot paper which did not ask a simple question of ‘Do you want to change the current system to have an elected Mayor in Birmingham – please vote yes or no’ but instead devised two bland options which caused considerable confusion for many people. Over 5,000 ballot papers were rejected (2.5% of votes cast). However those ballot papers that had ‘yes’ written on it were counted as being in favour of having an elected Mayor but those ballot papers that had ‘No’ written on it were disallowed. This was flagrantly biased but, thankfully, made no difference to the massive rejection of the proposal.
I very much welcome the 20 Labour gains made throughout Birmingham and the change of control in Birmingham. The Council has many challenges and difficult tasks facing it but the new intake of Councillors, including Barry Bowles, Lisa Trickett and Mohammed Azim from the Hall Green constituency will, I hope, assist with bringing changes to the way that Council is run and I wish them all well for their period of office.
In a letter to the Home Secretary, Theresa May, Birmingham Hall Green MP, Roger Godsiff has sort assurances that any of the convicted who were not born in the UK will deported on completing their sentences.
Mr Godsiff said: “I have received a number of representations from members of the Muslin community living in my constituency who are disgusted and appalled by what these men did to vulnerable young girls and a number of them are strongly of the view that these individuals have no right to be part of British society.
He went on to say: “While I understand that those individuals who were born in this country have a legal entitlement to remain here I note that the ring leader is 59yrs old and may not have been born here”.
Mr Godsiff concluded: “ I have sort assurances that those members of the gang who were not born in the UK but who have been allowed to come here, settle, and may have become British citizens will have their entitlement to be here and any citizenship rights removed and that they will be deported at the end of their sentences”.
In other press coverage of the trial proceedings it has been suggested that at least two of the convicted will be deported at the conclusion of their sentences.
I extend greetings Christians in my constituency on St. George’s Day on the 23rd April. St. George is the Patron Saint of England and among the most famous of Christian figures. The banner of St. George – the red cross of a martyr on a white background – was adopted for the uniform of English soldiers as far back as the reign of Richard I and later became the flag of England and White Ensign of the Royal Navy. Little is known about St. George himself but he is venerated in many countries of the world and I send my best wishes to all of my constituents who celebrate St. George’s Day.
As we welcome spring and the season of renewal I would like to take this time to extend my warmest wishes to all those in Birmingham Hall Green who are celebrating Easter.
Easter is a season of tremendous hope for Christians. For them, it is a triumph of life over death, and the redeeming power of love over evil.
We are very fortunate to live in a country that embraces the many faiths of the world. Our country’s great strength is in the coming together of diverse backgrounds.
This weekend, may we all, whatever faith we follow, experience the spirit of peace, love and new beginnings that Easter stands for.
The 17th March is commemorated as St. Patrick’s Day in memory of Patrick the son of Calpurnius, a Roman-British army officer, who was born in the 4th century AD. Having originally being sold into slavery by pirates he escaped and went to Ireland where he spent 20 years travelling throughout the country establishing Monasteries and setting up schools and Churches and winning converts for Christianity.
Although originally a Catholic Holy Day St. Patrick’s Day has evolved into a secular holiday which is celebrated by Irish people of all religious faiths as a celebration of the Irish culture and I extend greetings to all my constituents of Irish descent on this happy occasion.
I extend congratulations to my Chinese constituents on the occasions of the Chinese New Year – Year of the Dragon.
23rd January marks the start of the biggest event in the Chinese calendar and up to 15 days of celebrations. I know the Year of the Dragon is the most auspicious animal in Chinese culture and the Chinese New Year is a great time for family and friends to celebrate and an excellent opportunity for generations to come together to share plans for the coming year and to reflect.
I extend greetings to all my Chinese constituents on this happy occasion.
Birmingham Hall Green MP, Roger Godsiff, called for an overhaul of the UK financial system during a general debate on the economy, yesterday.
Mr Godsiff said: “Ordinary people in my constituency who face massive pressures on their household budgets and look forward to a bleak Christmas are not too concerned about the blame game that is taking place between the parties, but there is a smouldering resentment of the financial sector, including the banks and financial institutions that have plunged the economy into recession, destroyed jobs and ripped people’s lives apart. That resentment is heightened by the fact that those self-same banks and financial institutions are once again acting as they did before they brought the crisis upon us. There are bonuses galore, and veiled threats that if regulations are introduced they will go elsewhere.
“It is three years since the financial crisis struck, but it needs to be said again and again that that crisis was not caused by nurses and teachers. It was not caused by public sector workers, or by people working in the private sector. It was not caused by small business men, students or retired people, or indeed by the majority of people working in the financial sector. It was caused by the greed and irresponsibility of a small, self-serving group of people who made the decisions and played the casino, and now everyone else is paying the price.
“Between 1992—when the United Kingdom was thankfully forced out of the exchange rate mechanism—and 2007, the British economy grew every year. It grew under the right hon. and learned Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke) when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer, and it grew under subsequent Labour Chancellors. Public sector borrowing was consistently between 2% and 3% of GDP, which was perfectly sustainable. However, in 2008 it shot up to 11% because the financial crisis caused by those I referred to earlier had resulted in a full-blown recession and a collapse in tax revenues, and, furthermore, in the need for the Government to bail out the banking sector. I am sure that my right hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh South West (Mr Darling), who spoke earlier, referred in his book to an interesting deputation that he received—when Treasury officials informed him that the only way of resolving the crisis was for him to nationalise the banks—and I understand why Mervyn King told the Treasury Committee that he was surprised that there was not more public anger about.
“However, we must look forward. Britain and the rest of the western world are witnessing the death throes of an ideology that has dominated for 30 years. The Anglo-Saxon neo-liberal market model has failed, and we must consider adopting different models if we are to have a financial services sector that is fit for purpose. We need to be more innovative: we need to try out new ideas rather than adhering to traditional recipes which we have already tried, which have been found wanting, and which have now been totally discredited.
“Why, for example, should we not use RBS as a national investment bank—or call it what you will? After all, we own 87% of it. Why should it not be modelled on America’s Small Business Administration, which has supplied 20 million small business men with financial help since its establishment after the second world war, or indeed on Germany’s state development bank, which lent €30 billion to businesses in 2010 alone? Instead of printing money through so-called quantitative easing and giving it to the banks—which do not lend it, but hoard it to rebuild their capital base—why should we not give consumers money vouchers that are time-limited and must be spent on household goods or on, for instance, car scrappage schemes? We should try out some new ideas. The fastest way to stimulate the economy is from the bottom upwards, and no job creation scheme could have a more immediate effect than bringing our high streets alive. All Members know of high streets in their constituencies with boarded-up shops, and where the only new shops are Poundland stores and charity shops.
“This is not revolutionary thinking. It has been tried before in America, Japan and China. People are looking for new ideas for the future, and they are prepared to accept radical and innovative policies. They do not want to be lectured by the Government or the Governor of the Bank of England, who can hardly be thought to have had foresight in seeing the recession coming given that he was arguing for increased interest rates right up until the end of 2008 in order to head off inflation, which he said was the biggest threat to the recovery.
“We have paid homage to the Bank and financial institutions for too long. We must construct a better financial system that is fit for purpose, and we need to do that sooner rather than later.”
At the end of the debate, the coalition government lost a surprise vote forced through by Labour whips. Members voted against the government by 213 votes to 79.