Liberal Democrats Spring Conference: Nick Clegg speech

Liberal Democrats Spring Conference: Nick Clegg speech; Nick Clegg MP speech SOT - Growth that lasts does not threaten our children’s future. It recognises that our planet is a gift that must be cherished. That tomorrow is our responsibility as much as today. - And growth that lasts does not leave an underclass behind. It brings everyone along, sharing prosperity – because the more people are included. the more people are enabled to seize opportunities, the more prosperity there is for all. But we cannot have a new kind of growth with the old kind of banks. It is time to break them up. Bring back competition. Bring back diversity. Bring back building societies. - And until we do it we should insist that banks pay a premium on their profits to the taxpayers who have bailed them out. We will separate low risk utility banking from high risk investment finance once and for all. So banks never again take insane risks which jeopardise your everyday savings. - Some people say it is impossible to split the banks like this. They’re usually – you guessed it – the bankers themselves. The governor of the Bank of England says it is not only possible but essential to break up the banks. He’s right. They’re wrong. Only the Liberal Democrats say: The banking industry, no industry, must ever again occupy such a privileged position that it can hold a gun to the head of rest of the economy. Never again. - But reforming the banks should not be an act of retribution. It is about getting money flowing to the thousands of businesses starved of credit today. Without support from banks, companies go bust, and the jobless remain without hope. - I was staggered when I heard that RBS, a bank we own, was lending millions of pounds to help Kraft buy Cadbury. A great Birmingham company. RBS was funding this deal which everybody knew would cost jobs in Britain. While small business customers of this very bank were being turned down for loans or charged extort...