BRIGHTON 1976 The Lugano branch of Lloyds Bank had £28m spirited off them In 1974. They didn't mind too much. They simply deducted the loss from their profits of 2125.9m for that year. The total profits of the Big Four clearing banks amounted to a stupendous £500m last year. It Is not surprising that they should react so violently to the Labour Party NEC's proposals to nationalise them and the insurance companies. control of these profits that he headlined his piece The death of freedom'. The major clearing banks were a little more level-headed. They set about planning the sabotage of the measures before they get anywhere near the statute book. They chose an expert to mastermind the operation - Lord Armstrong, now chairman of the Midland Bank after recently retiring as head of the Civil Service. top seven insurance companies. The proposals would aim to reform the Bank of England so that it reflects more the policy of the Govemment than the interests of the City. The overall aim would be to provide finance which has previously been unforthcoming for industrial Investment. The scheme has been estimated to cost 2500m a year in servicing loans. Many flaws launched the plan, continues to remain, and against whose wage-cutting policies not even the leftest of the NEC "lefts' will wage any real fight. investment for British capitalists, It is the crisis-ridden British economy. Similarly, it is not shortage of finance that is the ICNG measures unless their present disastrous policies are fought. package come simply sabotaged the state's take-over. So overcome was the editor of The Times at the prospect of any kind of The NEC's plan calls for the public ownership of the Big Four and the La Labour Government within which Tony Benn, who main block to Compensation would effectively mean that the banks would make a loss, confirming the hoary old Tory myth that nationalisation equals inefficneeds a two thirds majority to go into the Manifesto — and given the lick- Even if the plan gets past the starting gate of the Labour Conference, it spittle attitude of the trade union leaders to Callaghan, a block vote or two could be trundled in its way. But of course, that is not the end of the story. There's many a slip twixt Conference and Manifesto, and even more between Manifesto and actual Implementation. Finally there is the small question of whether there will be a Labour Government to Implement any But suppose the wildest dreams of the lefts who have produced the true and a Labour Government actually does try implement the proposals. The sugar industry faced such a 'theat' in the forties. Mr Cube conducted a prolonged campalgn against nationalisation to win hearts and minds. In the first steel nationalisation. the bosses
Red Weekly1976Red Weekly No. 166, 16 September 1976
Banks takeover!
The scan: rw-no166-sep-16-1976.pdf (PDF, Marxists Internet Archive, opens at this page)
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