British govt. signals RBS selloff amid share losses
George Osborne has announced that the Tory government will sell yet more publicly owned shares, with an 80% stake in RBS up for grab.
During the financial crash, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown placed the Royal Bank of Scotland under public control in order to stave off the banking giant from financial ruin.
The move caused great controversy among the British public, with many arguing that the government were bailing out the bankers whilst forgetting about the average working person.
But Osborne’s move is set to court just as much controversy. Campaigners argue that the Tories are using the sale of RBS and Royal Mail to fulfill their ideological vision of mass privatization and further banking deregulation.
Union giant Unite said, "By selling off the public stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland, George Osborne is short-changing the public and wasting a historic chance to bring needed change to Britain's banks.”
But Tory chancellor George Osborne believes that it’s “the right thing to do for British businesses and British taxpayers. Yes, we may get a lower price than that was paid for it - but we will get the best price possible. For the longer we wait, the higher the price the whole economy will pay."
RBS chief executive Ross McEwan agrees with Osborne, saying he “welcomes this evening's announcement from the chancellor and we are pushing ahead with our strategy to build a simpler, stronger, fairer bank that is totally focused on the needs of its customers and centered here in the UK.”
The Tories are using this post election period to push through legislation and typical Tory initiatives in order to capitalize on a weak and leadership opposition. The first few months of a new government is the time when they can steamroll through their policy dreams without little accountability.
LM/SKL
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