Treasury secretary Ruth Kelly brushed off criticisms from the Treasury Select Committee yesterday to argue means-tested benefits do not deter savings, that there is no £27bn savings gap, and that consumer confidence in long-term savings will return.
The Alice in Wonderland approach, as reported in The Daily Telegraph caused the collective blood pressure of Committee members to hit the danger zone. "Soft commissions, improper connections between analysts, late trading, share ramping, insider dealing. . . The market makes pick-pocketing look like bell-ringing on a Sunday. What's to be done about it? We have got partnerships, strategies, stakeholder products, working groups, important meetings. Where have we got a successful prosecution that will change behaviour?” said Labour MP Jim Cousins. Even Kelly’s attempts to focus on the ra...
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