We stumped up for the bailout this is payback

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That a Right-wing think tank can suggest a plan for us all to be given shares in RBS and Lloyds is no surprise - it conforms to the share-owning democracy concept first put into practice by Margaret Thatcher.

What is a shock is that a Liberal Democrat leader should echo the same vision. But Clegg is not arriving at this conclusion from a notion that we should all turn into Philip Greens or Alan Sugars.
It's more that he sees this as payback time, that we stumped up the cash to rescue the banks and we deserve something in return.

There are niggles. Administering a handout for 46 million people would be a logistical nightmare. It would - but nowhere near as bad as an actual flotation for millions of small shareholders. This is a giveaway so the regulatory hoops are far fewer.

The City's reaction is to hate it. Why? For a start they have an inbuilt loathing of ordinary investors. Also, the mighty investment banks will miss out on whopping fees.

By creating an army of shareholders, all equal, the governance of the banks would not be easy.
And the public has a history of mistrusting government handouts. The Child Trust Fund struggled because the people it was aimed at - the working class - did not want it.

The alternative, in which the rich few pile in and snap up the shares is far less attractive. We've all suffered because of the banking crisis; now we should all benefit.