Sky News swoons over Goldman Sachs, protecting the banking giant from… Rachel Reeves?

Sky News has been swooning over Goldman Sachs, as if the banking conglomerate didn’t net £10.73bn in 2024. Apparently, chancellor Rachel Reeves must not increase the “financial burden” on a bank making billions in profit.

Sky News reported on a meeting between Sachs boss David Soloman and Reeves.

The banking surcharge tax was already cut from 8% to 3% in recent years. Yet according to Sky News the banking multinational is in a “vulnerable” position for tax hikes. Find me a violin the size of an atom.

Financial growth from the likes of Goldman Sachs?

Within a previous interview with Sky News, Goldman Sachs boss David Soloman said London’s position as a top financial centre was “fragile”.

And in line with Soloman’s position, Labour is looking to finance for real economy growth. That’s despite the fact that all the evidence suggests that is counterproductive. The expansion of the financial sector poaches workers from the real economy and shrinks the economy when private debt is high (which it is at a staggering average of 160% of GDP). Nonetheless, Labour appear to be continuing with the Tory policy of transferring money from low income people to the already rich.

The Labour government has already targeted disabled people by cutting the health element of universal credit (UC). That was after they attempted to cut disabled citizen’s personal independent payments (PIP). But the Starmerites failed after a rebellion from the party’s own MPs.

In 2024, UK banks made £45.9 billion in net profit. That’s around 5% of the entire UK government budget and much higher than Labour’s attempted cuts to welfare.

Still, Labour has refused to bring in a cap on bankers’ bonuses, aligning with Liz Truss who scrapped the cap during her brief stint as prime minister. The cap itself was already minimal – at 100% of a bankers’ entire annual salary.

Positive Money campaign

Soloman claimed to Reeves that higher banking taxes would damage UK growth. He apparently didn’t say why. Besides, expanding the public sector is a form of growth, given investment in affordable housing leads to people having financial security. Then, they will spend more money in the real economy without the daunting prospect of monthly rent. That increase in demand brings growth.

Also, what would also be beneficial to small and medium business growth is interest free loans from not for profit banks like Goldman Sachs.

That would stop private banks creating money based on debt, as advocated by campaign group Positive Money.

Featured image via the Canary