Politics or pressure?
- 1 Mar 07, 01:01 PM
Who says that Labour's deputy leadership race changes nothing?
Pressure from a union - the GMB - persuaded several candidates - Hain, Cruddas and Johnson - to express their concerns about an industry - the private equity sector of the City - which has persuaded the Treasury to persuade the industry that it better change its ways or else.
The private equity boys have made millions buying up under performing British companies and, depending on your point of view, turning them round and making them competitive or asset-stripping and job cutting. A fifth of British jobs are in firms that are backed by private equity. The controversy is, in truth, about a handful of big names - the AA, National Car Parks and talk of a takeover of Sainsburys.
The first sign of what was up came when Ed Balls made clear that it was in the industry鈥檚 interests to agree with government on ways to enhance transparency and disclosure. 鈥淢y message to private equity is that coming forward with proposals for greater transparency in the way they operate would be in the interests of their industry and the UK economy more generally,鈥 he said.
Hey presto, the creation of a working party to look at, you guessed it, disclosure.
Politics working as it should, or union pressure forcing the Treasury to shackle one of the most successful parts of the UK economy? You pays your money and you make your choice...
