We're banking on measures to fight crisis

10 October 2008

AND so we are at the end of the political conference season. Those three weeks had the promise of high drama and intrigue but after the high of Manchester, it has finished with a whimper in Birmingham. The banking crisis over-shadowed the past two weeks.

As I write, we are still in the middle of an awful mess with no end or resolution in sight. The shock waves are being felt all over the world, Europe, Asia, and where it all started, the USA. I think that the fact that this really is an international financial crisis is becoming increasingly apparent. I have had a number of conversations with local people who are understandably anxious about where it will all end and what it means to them.

We have now returned to Parliament where the Government is introducing a Bill to further regulate the banking markets. The bankers and their friends will no doubt want to complain and exclaim that we will damage the economy further if we take such action.

But it is time for those in Parliament to decide which side they are on, to take a stand against greed. Gordon Brown has made it clear that he is on the side of the voters, those who are struggling to make ends meet, and those that fear the loss of their jobs or homes. It is a great pity that we are in a situation where we have to bail the banks out at all, but if we don't it is only the ordinary family that will suffer.

The actions taken two weeks ago to nationalise Bradford and Bingley (which I support) were taken under legislation that was passed in Parliament earlier this year. This legislation was opposed by the Conservatives, who still do not appear to have a coherent strategy to offer about the crisis. But Gordon Brown is clear; we must do "whatever it takes" to safeguard the integrity of the banking system. Not to do so would have meant disaster to the ordinary savers and borrowers and also an inevitable series of collapses by other banks and building societies, with more and more ordinary people losing their savings.

I will be interested to listen to the debate and see just how the Conservative Party responds. They have an ideological belief in the free market and oppose the regulation of markets.

But this Parliamentary term will demonstrate other divisions with the Conservative Party as we introduce new legislation on housing, childcare and welfare benefits. I will continue to campaign for more affordable homes, a London minimum wage and for the East End to really benefit from the investment in the Olympics.

My task over the next months will be twofold; to support the Government as it takes action to steer the country through this economic crisis and to continue to make the case for Londoners, explaining the difficulties faced by people living in one of the most expensive cities in the world and seeking a fair deal, matching rights with responsibilities and helping Government to understand that London is a special case that may need different remedies.