Prime Minister's question asked in the House of Commons, by Ronnie Campbell (Labour). It was answered on Wednesday, 21 October 2009 on behalf of the Prime Minister.

Engagements

Question: The capitalist system and the banks have made a gigantic mess not only of the world economy but of ours as well, so why are the public services, the pensioners, the poor and the working class people of this country having to pay for it? Will the Prime Minister ensure that the next Labour Government will do something about the banks, so that this never happens again?

Answer: The reason that we took action on the banks was not to save the bankers but to ensure that ordinary people's savings, jobs and mortgages, and the businesses on which jobs depend, were secure. There is not one saver who has lost money as a result of the failure of a British bank to make good its promise to pay money to savers. Equally, my hon. Friend is absolutely right: the banks have failed us in many ways. That is why we are making the necessary reforms, but we have to make these changes globally to make them work. Otherwise, banks will just move from one country to another. We have to create a system of remuneration that has global implications for all banks, rather than one that applies to just one country. We have to ensure that the banks will again lend the money necessary for industry and for home owners, and that is exactly the Government's policy.

Secondary information