Astute readers might have noticed that John Redwood MP gave us the benefit of his advice yesterday in The Sunday Telegraph. "We can all unite in condemning those senior bankers who expanded too much and paid themselves handsomely for the mistake," he writes. Warming to his theme, he tells us ...

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It's good to see that some people in the "Conservative" party still have the gumption to make a buck. It is unfortunate to see that there are people in the "Conservative" party who do not preach what they practice.

Given that they are paid an above average salary, with handsome expenses, the justification for them so doing is that such occupations keep them in touch with the real world and thus enable them to do their day job better.

Of the two MPs so far profiled (Clarke and Redwood) both with lucrative alternative sources of income from the financial services industry, I have not noticed any significant input from them in terms of warning of the impending crisis and calling for action.

Thus, while one might accept the justification for their additional employment, it might also be germane to ask: a) whether this "real world" experience was used to further the public interest; and b) just how much time they are able to devote to their day jobs in pursuit of the same.

There is also the question of conflict of interest - whether their views are shaped more by theor own pecuniary advantage than they are the public good - especially as they seem reluctant to acknowledge their alternative employment beyond their statutory declarations.

While the regulating world is of a mind to try and preserve the over-blown values they'll keep schtum. When people start talking about the City taking the hit their co-directors will lean on them probably for behind closed doors support. If either of these two start squawking publicly (or Major, still a Carlisle director?) it will be worth examining where they are coming from.

RaeNorth said:
(My emphasis)

How sad when one of my blogging heroes attacks another. A quick dip into Redwood's archive shows he has been a prescient commentator and has supplied much timely and relevant analysis.

How I wish he had been a favourite of the beeb rather than the ghastly "vince" cable.

Gordon Bennett

My sentiments exactly. I'm delighted that a Tory politician does know what he's talking about and furthermore gives good advice.

The politicians I dislike are the life-long full-time politicos who know nothing of the world but politics.

I notice there's no mention of Redwood's lucrative sideline as a Francis Urquhart lookalike.

Mr Redwood is not a "blogger" in the normal sense. He is a Member of Parliament, paid relatively well for the job, with considerable expenses and huge resources (see here). As an MP, he has an array of weapons that he can use, as an individual or as part of the collective.

He can ask parliamentary questions - written and oral - he can hold Westminister Hall debates, be can start Early Day Motions. He can intervene on other, related debates, he can write in the various House journals, he has priviledged access to ministers and civil servants, whom he can demand to see. He has good access to the media and, as a senior politician in the Conservative Party, he has access to his own hierarchy.

Furthermore, as an "insider" in the financial services industry, he could have (and, as his blog shows) did have a fair idea that the system was going belly-up and why.

The question is, therefore, why did he not make a bigger noise? Why did he not enlist his fellow MPs - some 30 of which have links with the financial services industry - and make an even bigger noise? Why did he not use all the weapons at his disposal and make a real nuisance of himself?

Of his "timely and relevant analysis", therefore, I am totally underwhelmed. He is paid to look after the public interest, to scrutinise the Executive (the government) and to make a bloody nuisance of himself. As far as I am concerned, he was asleep on the job.

His only mitigation is that all his colleagues were as well. The failure was collective, but while that is a mitigating factor, it does not absolve him from his own personal responsiblity. You may be tolerant of it. I am not so. I have this old fashioned idea that public servants should earn their bloody money.

Which MPs have actually done real work or run a real business ? Idont mean lawyers and investment banker types .

The above extract from JR's blog illustrates some of his problems with the beeb. I recall that he has written that he has on several occasions offered himself for interview (human sacrifice?) to the beeb but they seem to prefer libdums to Conservatives on the rare occasions when they want to present/undermine an opposition view.

The Report to which he refers was judged to be a model of its kind and farsighted in its recommendations about Banking Regulation. I also know that JR has for several years been criticising the disastrous tri-partite regulation regime gordon brown set up and pointing out the fraudulent nature of gb's action in making the BoE "independent" whilst retaining control over who is on the MPC and what their target is. Both of these policies have exacerbated the depth of the financial crisis for the UK.

However, nobody can expect to be allowed on the beeb to make a criticism of our Supreme Leader, which is rather ironic in the light of the beeboids' constant refrain about the Opposition being "invisible".

Perhaps I should really be making these points on the Biased BBC blog and I admit that this is a poor and weak response to your reply to me. You made some good points to which I have no concrete answers (but JR might!) but nevertheless I feel JR has been more informative and on the ball than many commentators and still has my respect.

The trouble is, I know JR - met him many times. He is, as you might say, an inveterate self-publicist, more intererested in what he can get out of an issue than in solving the problem. He is also about as trustworthy as a snake. If you tell him something useful, he'll be up in the papers in a flash, telling everyone it was his idea. No one, therefore, trusts him, so they won't work with him if they can avoid it.

As to the "tripartite" system, Redwood of all people - the supposed eurosceptic - should know that it is not tripartite, but quadrupartite. The EU commision is the fourth player. He should also know that the system is largely a creation of the EU and is currently structured so that it conforms with EU law.

He has complained about the Basel II regulations - and had made some sensible observations about capital adequacy and liquidity - but never once has he acknowledged that Basel II is implemented by EU law. Thus, while he talks glibly about changes being needed, he has never once come clean and said - at the very least - "we must work with our European partners" to secure changes.

As far as I am concerned, therefore, Redwood is the worst of them all. Highly knowlegeable, he has the least of all excuses for not identifying the real problems and calling for action on them.

In my opinion, of the UK politicians I have seen on BBC TV's Newsnight, John Redwood is equal least worst, the interview technique is as described above and that anyone who actually addressed the situation head-on would never be broadcast again. Furthermore, I see no practical difference between the BBC and SKY, or indeed the various snippets I have seen of US TV.

The interviewer acts as a prosecuting barrister, with the hapless interviewee having to respond to absurd assertions, which though they are often caricatures or purely speculative, operate effectively to smear or ridicule the interviewee. The case for the defence of the interviewee is not presented.

John Redwood is a member of the Establishment Party and hence of the wider Ruling Class and I see no possibility of him or indeed any other such person actually representing the Electorate. As always, where do they live and how are their children educated?

That John Redwood is feathering his own nest at least demonstrates that he is behaving rationally, given what we have got coming http://www.dcdc-strategictrends.org.uk/ ... aspx?doc=1