What the media says about me...

"A stroppy Labour MP"

Simon Hoggart Parlaimentary Sketch, The Guardian, October 2004

MP Welcomes Move to Stabilise Financial Markets

Tags: banks | finance | Press Release | regulation

Wednesday, 08 October 2008 00:00

Pendle MP, Gordon Prentice, today welcomed moves by the Government to restore confidence in the banking sector by injecting at least £200 billion into the system. Speaking at Westminster earlier today, the MP said: "This should provide sufficient liquidity to ensure banks can do what they are supposed to do - lend to customers and support the real economy, the businesses that we all rely on in our daily lives." "All the big High Street banks are participating in the Government's recapitalisation to make sure they have the money they need: Abbey, Barclays, HBOS, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Charter." This afternoon, the MP quizzed the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the position of those who had lost money with the earlier collapse of Equitable Life. The Pendle MP told the Commons the Government should look again at the question of compensating people hit by Equitable Life going under, especially as the Parliamentary Ombudsman had said this was a result of ten years of regulatory failure. The MP said: "People who put money into an Icelandic bank that has gone under are being compensated by the British Government. What about the Equitable Life people?" The MP added: "What is happening here and around the globe will make people think afresh about the role of the State." "It demonstrates in spades that Governments must actively intervene and regulate markets." "The fabled light touch is, too often, a soft touch or, even worse, no touch at all. And look where that got us. A global financial meltdown of historic proportions where half of all mortgages in America are now the responsibility of the US Government."