FTSE 100 Bosses gave themselves a 55 per cent rise last year

"Short of throwing a champagne celebration for themselves outside a Merthyr Tydfil jobcentre, FTSE 100 bosses could not have shown less tact."  Hat tip the FT.com!!!!

This news that directors of the top 100 companies in the UK gave themselves (forget the utter fiction that this is decided by "independent" remuneration committees) an average rise of 55% is just a kick in the teeth to all of us. 

What is worse - is that this was done in our name.  Our Pension and Insurance funds will, (despite being "owned" by ordinary Brits who would if they had the choice no doubt vote to block such theft of their dividends) approve all these disgusting payments at Company AGM's.

It is the bleeding obvious that the sector cannot regulate itself due to imbalances in favour of completely selfish and sometimes utterly corrupt City interests. 

We need the Government to act and allow the owners of companies to stop being ripped off by their managers. Hat Tip thingy Adam Smith

Champagne Charlies

For no particular reason whatsoever I thought I would republish links to some of my favourite posts on this blog.

My speech at Labour Party conference in 2009 about the millionaire Champagne Charlies - Cameron and Osborne

This one about the "curse of grayee" following the Daily Mirror exposure about Cameron being found out quaffing £140 per bottle champagne.  This was after he wanted pay freezes on millions of public sector workers who earn less than this amount per week.

Or this post about "how to become a Tory MP" - one way is to bribe members of CCHQ "It was a person I'd bought champagne at the last Party Conference. It was the best £35 I ever spent in my time in the party."

Finally this post on the speech to this year's Labour conference by respected Railway union leader GerGerry Doherty's defence of basic health and safety on the London underground and his attack on Bullingdon Champagne Mayor Boris Johnson.