Let’s hope we now see some humility (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Let’s hope we now see some humility

11:38am Thursday 19th July 2012 in Opinion By Jack Straw, MP for Blackburn

How the mighty have fallen. The leaders of our major private sector companies were supposed to be Masters of the Universe; their ridiculous, grotesque “compensation” justified on the grounds that they were so much better qualified than the rest of us; they were the chosen few.

They alone had the secrets and the expertise to produce the profits, and the jobs on which “UK plc” depended. So special did these people believe themselves to be that they had no understanding of their own rank hypocrisy as they asserted that their own staff would only work hard if their wages were kept down, whilst they would only work hard if their already inflated salaries were increased by miles above the rate of inflation.

Note well: folk on average wages (of £26,000 pa) or less have seen their real terms’ income increase by just four per cent in the last year, whilst that of chief eExecutives of big British companies grew by 49 per cent (to an average income of £3.8 million).

Now, in these last days, we have all discovered that these giants of British industry have feet of clay.

Mr Bob Diamond, of Barclays, who’s earnt £120 million since 2005, shrunk to helpless paddling as he tries to explain away how Barclays “massaged” a key interest rate.

Mr Nick Buckles, boss of the security firm G4S, reduced to a jelly, unable even to say what “fluent English” is.

As I watched these and other hapless figures being grilled by Commons’ Select Committees, I could tell that these people were thinking “it wasn’t supposed to be like this. Why should I have to explain myself to these of all people, politicians elected by the British people?”

Excuse me gloating. But how often have I heard these same people lecture ministers about what an incompetent bunch we are; worse, heard them denigrate hard working staff across the public sector.

Let’s hope we now see some humility.

As Lord Waldegrave, former Conservative Cabinet Minister said this morning, “there’s absolutely no muddle that the public sector makes that the private sector cannot match.”