Afternoon:
15°c
It was Sir Ronald Cohen who warned of the coming riots.
Ronnie, the founder of Apax Partners, the private equity firm, and an ally of Gordon Brown, with an estimated £260 million fortune, said in July 2007 that the widening gap between Britain's rich and poor was a growing cause for concern.
“Entrepreneurial economies which have high rates of growth and high rates of job creation do lead to great divergences in wealth. When economic situations get bad, it takes a spark to ignite a violent reaction.”
At the time, Cohen's claim was widely dismissed — certainly in the City, where he was viewed as something of a Leftie maverick. That was in public. Privately, City firms were beefing up their security and warning employees not to be seen to be splashing their cash — displays of conspicuous consumption were heavily frowned upon.
Quietly, too, senior politicians were expressing fears of possible disorder and worse. That was three years ago. In that period, the worry has not gone away but hardened. Yesterday's invasion of Tory HQ at Millbank after a peaceful student protest was the first indication that Cohen may have been right.
Of course, it's possible to dismiss the mayhem as just another provocation by a bunch of hardened anarchists. It's true: the anarchist flag was flying from the roof, not the colours of an Oxbridge college. They were prepared, dressed in traditional black garb, their faces covered, and they were going for it.
But not all of them were from the Eat the Rich brigade. The pictures of some of those being led away in handcuffs are not those of the Euro-anarchists we've become used to at G7 and G20 gatherings these past years. They looked squeaky clean, fresh-faced — and angry.
Besides, it's not as if we've not had demonstrations since Cohen made his remarks. There have been plenty of marches in London but none has spilled over into quite the scale of trouble witnessed yesterday afternoon.
Cohen was speaking against a backdrop of mounting fury about those in private equity paying less in taxes than their cleaners. That row has never gone away — it was swept up in the banking crisis, the exposure of the greed of investment bankers (and the authorities' negligent failure to curb that avarice) and global recession.
In the next days we will be treated to a rogues' gallery issued by Scotland Yard, court appearances and rightful convictions for vandalism and violence. But if we suppose this is the end of it, as Cohen said, we could be badly mistaken.
The temperature is rising all the time. Already, we've had strikes from the Tube drivers and firefighters, and now students are taking to the streets. More groups are likely to follow suit. The Government has to stick to its task of reducing the budget deficit; debt must be brought under control.
Equally, though, ministers have to raise their game. They've not presented a convincing analysis of why so much needs to be cut so soon.
The Coalition's dramatic claim that Britain was on the “brink of bankruptcy” prior to George Osborne's Superman-type intervention has been pooh-poohed by so many leading economists as to be at least highly questionable. The suspicion that the axing is fuelled by Conservative ideology more than necessity (a belief fostered by Tories cheering as the Chancellor made his Spending Review statement last month) continues to linger.
Decisions have seemed rushed and ill-thought-through, provoking inflammatory reaction from the most unlikely quarters — reaction that all contributes towards a simmering wider mood. So we've had the middle classes screaming over the loss of child benefit, and Boris Johnson speaking of “Kosovo-style social cleansing” on plans to cap housing benefit.
Likewise, on university finances, the lack of proper debate is alarming. It has not been adequately explained why English students are required to pay extra for their education. The proposals don't apply to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, yet we're supposed to be the United Kingdom. Why should their students be better off?
Indeed, it has not been articulated clearly and reasonably by anyone in government as to why universities should be singled out for dramatic rises in their fees.
Ministers point to the recent review by Lord Browne and his recommendations that charges should rise as if it's a mantra. But the ex-BP boss was asked to examine how university funding could be made more self-financing — what he was not required to do was inquire as to whether higher education should be given a greater priority for state capital than, say, replacing Trident or providing aid overseas.
Browne was always going to produce suggestions for jacking up fees and increasing the burden on most students. It has been presented as a fait accompli. What there has not been is a coherent, extensive discussion as to whether it's right and fair that future students should pay so much when their parents paid nothing at all.
What was also telling about yesterday was the venom directed at the Liberal Democrats. Their inability to justify their change of stance, from determinedly opposing hikes in student charges to backing them now, can only provoke further despond. Words like “hypocrite” and “betrayal” are strong, but it is hard to see what others can be used in relation to Nick Clegg and his colleagues.
All they do is trot out the rehearsed creed that the poorest students will not have to pay and that loans will not have to be repaid until graduates earn £21,000 a year — and ignore the other truth which is that the majority of students will be left nursing debts of £40,000-plus. Small wonder it was the Lib-Dem leader's effigy that was being burned by his natural supporters on Millbank.
Disturbingly, the scene is set for more yesterdays. The police will undoubtedly be better prepared. But that is not to say there won't be trouble or that the rage is going to disappear. The rioters deserve condemnation — but not for the first time, we have been warned.
Reader views (8)
When business leaders stop trashing and burning the planet for more and more profits, that their shareholders blithely accept. When these self same business leaders exploit and manipulate people's lives through unfair work practices, unsafe workplaces, flagrant pollution of water and the environment, whilst happily accepting government handouts that would be better spent on education, healthcare and social services.
Some casual observers would like to blame the parents of the demonstrators but what responsibility did these business people’s parents show? They have shown absolutely no responsibility to society and the world at large whatsoever.
Until there is full and proper business accountability in relation to the manner in which profits are accumulated, where environments social and natural are not violently defiled for profit alone, I’d consider the outrage displayed by the demonstrators as but a minor symptom of the larger problem.
Current business practices that parade gross profits, with resultant gross social displacement/environmental destruction/water pollution, and the complete and utter disregard for their social effects is at the heart of this matter. Big business in collaboration with governments’ deliberate attempts to shore up the wealthy on the backs of everyone else is the scourge of modern times, and needs to be rewritten for the history of these times.
- beeden, Melbourne, Australia, 12/11/2010 16:28
Report abuse
This country has been in far great debt in the pass. This is all smoke and mirrors which allows the current government to push throw an ideological agenda. Those who can't see this can continue ignore this. However, by this time next year there are going to a lot of angry people and it will not be just students and people on benefits it will be middle-England's Tory voters. The only people who are going to benefit are the super rich and the banks, of course. I am sure that right-wing trolls will be happy to shout me down and accuse me of left-wing bias. Sadly that is not the case as a former Tory voter who has become completely disillusioned with our political masters of what ever colour.
- John David, London, 12/11/2010 11:16
Report abuse
Why are people so surprised at the U-Turn by the Lib Dems. They have previous by breaking their promise to support a referendum on the EU Constitution
- John Smith, London, 11/11/2010 19:51
Report abuse
Hmmm... I would have thought a £160bn deficit would create some sense of urgency. Not for Chris I guess.
Even with the coalition's 'huge' cuts, its going to be nothing but deficits for several more years.
If middle class students are going to riot because they have to invest in their own education, imagine what else is in store for us.
- Pepik, London, 11/11/2010 16:52
Report abuse
Of course there should be bursaries from the rich to help the poor but it isn't necessarily the poorest who suffer most in this case, it's the vast majority of hard working middle class people whose kids will be in the position of being charged this ridiculous sum.
And we are part of Europe, not the US. As far as I am aware, in the EU, students do not have to pay astronomic fees. My daughter recently completed 5 years studying at Trinity College Dublin and the (admin) cost was around 1000E per year.
- Lucyinthesky, London, UK, 11/11/2010 16:15
Report abuse
House prices should come down. That will be the next riot. People that cant afford housing. Fair enough they are protesting. The golden age can sit pretty on their over priced houses and start accepting the next generation are going to be angry!
- Beth D, London,United Kingdom, 11/11/2010 15:08
Report abuse
An entirely state-funded higher education system is unsustainable in the long term, with or without a recession. Complete reliance on state funding makes universities vulnerable to the cycles of growth and stagnation in the economy. What is urgently needed is a tax framework that encourages philanthropy, along with a few motivated billionaires willing to make a difference. All US universities benefit enormously from donations by rich alumni and/or major corporations. Fellowships and bursaries for good students whose families genuinely can't afford the fees are the rule, not the exception. Why can't we do this on a larger scale?
- John, London, 11/11/2010 14:36
Report abuse
Chris, you don't have to be rich to vote for the Tories. But commonsense, however, IS a pre-requisite.
Save your rich versus poor propaganda for the Labour party.
- Angelica, London, U.K, 11/11/2010 12:31
Report abuse
