Bankers and why the status quo is still strong

Few tears were shed this week when Fred ‘the shred’ Goodwin was stripped ignominiously of his knighthood. In the face of economic recession and genuine hardship being suffered by so many, the “cancellation and annulment” of his title was seen by most as inevitable, and justified.

Goodwin was, of course, at the helm of RBS when it came to the brink of collapse in 2008, and the taxpayer had to pick up the tab.

In the light of the collapse and its consequences, which will now impact on a whole generation, there was undoubtedly something anachronistic in him enjoying privileges on the basis of his “services to banking”.

The decision now brackets Mr Goodwin with such notorious figures as Soviet spy Anthony Blunt and Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, which seems a bit harsh and questionable to all but the most offended.

Unfortunately, the decision won’t affect Mr Goodwin’s RBS pension, which means taxpayers will have to support him for the rest of his life to the tune of £342,500 a year.

Even more unfairly, Stephen Hester, the man trying desperately to sort out the mess left by Goodwin, has crumbled to political pressures to hand back his 2011 £1m bonus.

There is of course, a long list of others who were just as culpable as Mr Goodwin in the financial crash, and there are many more titled individuals whose pasts equally fail similar tests of political and moral scrutiny.

Like so many before him, Mr Goodwin’s public infamy will only serve to increase his post-career currency, and a lucrative life of lecture tours, consultancies and non-executive board roles is probably already in the bag.

For all the puffery of politicians, the Goodwin saga shows only that the establishment is as strong and secure as ever, with its scoundrels sailing into the glorious sunset, and the hard-working tax-payers, as ever, picking up the tab for the incompetence and self-interest of the unscrupulous and self-interested.