VERSION|0.5.1|NAME|Steve|DATE|1365521286|CONTENT|I agree with that, Edwin. The trades unions were the driving force behind most of the improvements to life for ordinary people in the 20th century. It was the movement itself that was most betrayed by the union leadership in the 70s. They lost all contact with reality, and made themselves a very obvious target for a strong politician to take on. The result was that the movement that gave ordinary British citizens pensions, a welfare safety net and free healthcare could be described as “the enemy within”, and a huge number of those same citizens agreed with it. To a large extent, they still do. A properly reformed movement with none of the entrenched politics and dogma defined in the 80s would be a real boost to the country.

The same can be said today for the banks. Like the unions, we’d be lost without them. But their inbuilt stupidity and greed has made them the target. A politician today could stand up and describe them as “the enemy within” and nobody would blink, because as with the unions in the 70s, they wouldn’t be entirely wrong. I’d like to see a day when our banks and our trades unions can work for the economy and each other’s interest together, with an industrial policy aimed at making both working people and investors better off.|IP-ADDRESS|10.0.119.138, 217.36.222.79, 10.37.43.204|MODERATIONFLAG|