We Need A New British Business Bank

Small- And Medium-sized Businesses Need Access To A Diverse Range Of Finance Options, Including Non-bank Lending. These New Forms Of Finance Are Still Small In Scale Today But They Should, Over Time, Bring Additional Choice And Greater Competition To The Lending Market.

I Have Managed To Infuriate The Bank Bosses; Acquire A Fatwa From The Revolutionary Guards Of The Trades Union Movement; Frighten The 'daily Telegraph' With A Progressive Graduate Payment; And Upset Very Rich People Who Are Trying To Dodge British Taxes. I Must Be Doing Something Right.

The Government Increasingly Resembles Somebody Who Is Trying To Give The Kiss Of Life To A Corpse.

The Economy Has Become Seriously Unbalanced. Its Growth Has Not Been Driven By Investment Or By Overcoming Britain's Long-standing Weaknesses In Investment And Productivity, Particularly Skills. Instead, There Has Been A Binge Of Debt-financed Consumer Spending.

These 'masters Of The Universe' Must Be Tamed In The Interests Of The Ordinary Families Whose Jobs And Livelihoods Are Being Put At Risk. The Tories Won't Say Anything About The Current Crisis As They Are Completely In The Pockets Of The Hedge Funds.