"Most momentous financial day of our lives"
"Today was the most momentous financial day of our lives," a savvy Tory shadow minister told me last night, referring to the to back the £700 billion Bush bank bailout plan. "It is historic."
Here in Birmingham at the Tory conference he was one of the few to realise the significance of what was going on across the Atlantic: the Tory faithful continued to enjoyed themselves, apparently oblivious to the chaos on Capital Hill and the carnage on Wall Street, where the Dow collapsed in a record breaking fall of almost 778 points.
But the Tory leadership knew exactly what was happening: David Cameron and George Osborne were quickly withdrawn from the party circuit and closeted away to plan their response -- being seen quaffing champagne is not a good move when the world is on the brink of an economic meltdown.
The response of our political leaders, in government and opposition, to these "momentous" events is not yet clear. An editorial in this morning's Wall Street Journal excoriates the "feckless political class" on Capitol Hill that "cannot even make a sausage". It remains to be seen if our lot will do any better.
David Cameron is to make an "emergency" speech to the conference at 11am this morning on the financial crisis. No doubt he will repeat his . But will the Brown government bite -- Yvette Cooper remained shrilly partisan in her media appearances this morning and it's not clear if the Prime Minister's default position in a crisis is tribal or bipartisan -- and nobody here in Birmingham seems to be sure what the substance of a bipartisan approach should be.
Naturally, events elsewhere are overshadowing this conference. How could it be otherwise when stock markets are in turmoil, banks are being nationalised or shut down left, right and centre and the air is thick with portentous new possibilities, from the collapse of the Lloyds TSB takeover of ailing HBOS to fears that a massive British High Street bank might have to be rescued -- even nationalised -- by the weekend.
We'll be across all that and more live from Birmingham and London at Noon on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ2 today. We'll have , one of America's most respected economists in Brum and the editor of the Financial Times, the much-respected Lionel Barber, in our London studio. We'll have the latest from the US and we have an interview with the Shadow Chief Secretary of the Treasury, .
We have also asked to speak to a Government Treasury Minister. Among the many things we'll be talking to them about is whether the Brown government should mount a Bush-style bank bailout of its own, garnering bipartisan support from Tories and Lib Dems to do it. Perhaps if Westminster could do what Capitol Hill failed to do our political class might not be so "feckless" as America's after all.
As I write the London stock market is marking time, almost not quite sure what to do next after yesterday's precipitous falls. But bank stocks continue to weaken and we've not seen the end of the banking crisis by a long chalk. Late last night I learned that several mega-rich Brits had started withdrawing there millions from bank deposits to place them in safe-as-houses Treasury gilts, which earn almost no interest but run no risks. If that trend spreads then we will face a run on the banks -- and learn fast what an "economic Pearl Harbour" is in grim reality.
Away from global finance we'll be talking to Shadow Education secretary Michael Gove about his plans for a new wave of independent schools which will be free to the tax payer and compete with local state schools. Also today former Tory Party Chairman Norman Fowler on what the Tories still need to do to win - Lord Fowler has written a book on the subject full of special advice for the Tories. And has the banking meltdown created new opportunities for the Left?...as the foundations of capitalism are shaken to the roots Labour veteran Tony Benn will join us for a timely debate.
Join me live on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ-2 at midday for our action packed show.
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