Richard Baum

The domestic news today has once again been full of the types of economic bleakness that makes me ache with frustration about things.

Prices for domestic fuel seem about to leap again, and if Tam and I are feeling the pinch trying to keep the two of us warm in a modern house and with two above-average incomes, God knows how OAPs and big families with low wages are supposed to cope.

On top of this, I tried to fill my car this morning and would have had to take out a mortgage to achieve it, had any been available. Sadly the credit crunch means that there aren’t any, and so I was forced to pay with my Debit Card, which I feared would melt in the machine.

I really should know more about the forces at work behind these events. At the moment I can’t understand why, if everyone is bothered about the rising price of all, they just don’t stop paying those prices for it… Of course I know it’s not as simple as that, but the nuances of why things are happening the way they are escape me sometimes, as they must do so many people caught up in events beyond their control.

As a result, I am now reading a book about The City and the economy at the moment, and it is teaching me about what’s important and why. I hope it might make my frustration less about feeling ignorant. It’s oddly both complicated and very simple at the same time, but what it underlines is how immensely powerful the large investors and financial institutions are, and how they can generate both enormous wealth, and the potential to make millions of livelihoods vulnerable even for people with nothing to do with them.

The Lib Dems nationally are acutely concerned about the state of the economy, and have today launched their manifesto for the City of London called “A New Deal For The City – Liberal Democrat Proposals.” The document sets out our plans to create a new relationship between the Government and the City, by reforming regulations and simplifying taxes. What is clear is that, although the City is rightly praised for generating wealth, jobs and expertise for the country, it isn’t perfect. There are abuses and unfairness in the system which now seem to be effecting the entire country, and it is government’s role to continue allowing for innovation and the success of the City, but in an environment which protects us all.

I am learning more about this all the time. “The Economy” might seem boring, but then anyone with a job or a home or a car is as vulnerable to its fluctuations as I am. The proposals in our document today are sensible and much needed ways of trying to ensure that whilst we maximise the great potential of the City to drive forward our country, we don’t forget the responsibilities this brings to the government and the City itself.

Rick