Back in July last year the always enjoyable patriotic Englishman Toque explained for the sake of clarity to his readers that Banque Camoron the Big Society Bank is an England-only scheme as only dormant English bank accounts will be robbed by the government to part capitalise the new gimmick.
In February this year Toque highlighted that in a speech on the subject David Cameron was failing to make clear only English bank accounts would be raided to fund the Big Society Bank.
There has been no explanation as to why dormant accounts in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be left untouched by this outrageous and intrusive sequestration of funds. Like most people, Toque had been labouring under the assumption that only English bank accounts are being plundered because the Big Society Bank will only fund English based projects. But then he saw a comment made by Francis Maude in the House of Commons saying that:
…money put in by the banks will be for UK purposes, but the money coming into the big society bank in due course from dormant bank accounts will be for England only, unless the devolved Administrations decide to put their share of that money into the big society bank,
However a Parliamentary Written Answer published on Thursday doesn’t say that. In fact despite there being an ample opportunity to give a detailed response the answer gives the impression that as with so many pledges the government might be in the process of moving the goal posts.
When asked by Jonathan Edwards MP what arrangements the Minister for the Cabinet Office plans to put in place to fund the big society bank; and whether he expects there to be any differences in the operation of the bank in each nation or region, the Minister for Civil Society (yes, I know) Nick Hurd MP explained (my emphasis):
The Government have committed to using 100% of dormant accounts funds available for spending in England to set up the big society bank. In addition, four of the UK’s main banks have agreed to support the establishment of the bank with the injection, on a commercial basis, of £200 million of capital over two years, commencing in 2011.
We expect that the independent big society bank will have the ability to operate across the UK.
There is no sign of Maude’s caveat. Not content with the English taxpayer being ripped off by the Barnett Formula of funding in the other home nations, we could now be seeing the Conservative-Lib Dem government taking money from English bank account holders and using it to fund Big Society initiatives outside of England after all.
No matter what happens, the message to the English from the Con-Lib coalition seems to be the same as the one from the last Labour government, shut up and pay up.
Autonomous Mind 
I’m Scottish. I dont feel I’m anti-English. I don’t like, as many of my fellow Scots similarly feel that MPs representing Scottish constituencies should vote on English matters. This is an issue which English MPs and the parties themselves should address. It’s patently ridiculous.
I’m always surprised that the English people do not press for their own devolved parliament. It would also be good to see the English be more overt in their pride in being English.
The Barnet saga is difficult. Perhaps it also based on poverty and deprivation? My own feeling is that an allowance should be made of the oil found and exploited from Scottish waters. This approach has been used in other areas of world. Texas for example etc. if Barnet isn’t right then it should be reviewed.
I’m a keen supporter of the English Cricket Team. Good grief whatever next?
If you and I raided dormant English bank accounts and got caught we would be prosecuted.
If the banks raided dormant English bank accounts and got caught bank employees would be prosecuted.
But if a criminal with a large forehead, a blue tie and a crappy suit raided dormant English bank accounts bugger all will happen.
Will anyone wake up?
No they will all slumber on moaning that there is nothing they can do and troop into work on Monday to be taxed to the hilt until they die. Pathetic really. This is not the England I was born into.
Will anyone wake up?
No.
Not being in the UK this seems to have passed me by. Can anyone tell me what the definition of ‘dormant’ means? 1 year, 10 years, 25 years?
It all sounds like an unnecessary PR stunt anyway – Big Society Bank indeed!
What is the definition of a dormant bank account? And was this government theft voted in by MPs?
The whole thing demonstrates a risible lack of clarity, the Tories don’t know whether they’re a British party or an English party, or whether their policies are British or English. Or if they do know, they’d rather not say. It doesn’t bode well for Harriet Baldwin’s attempt at delineating legislation.
we could now be seeing the Conservative-Lib Dem government taking money from English bank account holders and using it to fund Big Society initiatives outside of England after all
I’d say the tendency is increasingly towards this.
Sounds serious, I followed Toque a lot re Witanagemot Club etc. I have heard nor know anything about this shit! Concur with comments above re what “dormant” actually means! Will be in touch with 2 banks and if i get a decent reply will post it here. FUCK!
@Toque…
“the Tories don’t know whether they’re a British party or an English party, or whether their policies are British or English.”
I don’t believe they are either, and neither do they (I am not referring to grass roots here), I reckon that they are an EU party and their policies are either derived from the EU, or dedicated to the expansion of EU power.
@ right_writes
I am in violent agreement with you. You can’t talk about the Union, nationalist parties and the question of English nationalism without considering the EU, which is the real government.
The Tories are a party with mainly English support.
However, they are a UK party rather than an English party in their outlook and by their actions are shown to be agents of the EU rather than a UK party. At least for all the guarded rhetoric they produce on occasion, given the choice between having office if it involved serious confrontation with the EU and not having office, they’d rather not have office. They are quite happy to talk about confrontation with the EU and pretend to have confrontations with the EU, especially when out of office. They are fond of a lot of nonsense about reforming he EU, but quietly forget it when they are in a position to do anything about it.