I am more than a little cynical about statements and claims that are made following changes in the banking sector.

Santander has recently taken over TSB in a £2.9 billion deal. The CEO tells us that the move “strengthens competitiveness in the market”. Really ? How does removing competition by taking over a competitor achieve that ?

All those years ago, Maggie Thatcher privatised the bus industry, assuring us all that many different bus companies, competing with one another would lead to better services. In practice, the big companies swallowed up the smaller ones, leading to near monopolies. The remaining companies near monopolies sometimes hide by giving them different names in different areas.

In the case of buses, the result is an over supply of services in urban areas and no interest in running services in rural areas.

In the insurance sector, you often find that a company trading under one name is actually owned by a much larger company in order to fool the public.

Some politicians play the game of pretending that de-regulation is the answer to turning around our economy and improving things for all of us. In fact, the reverse is often true…. commercial interests are primarily motivated by maximising profits…. whether it be a bank, water company or bus company.

I would say that a lack of regulation and enforcement has been very much against the public interest. It isn’t “anti capitalist” to think that government has an important role to play in setting and enforcing rules for the public good.