Brogue traders
Don’t let the shiny brogues fool you
They may look respectable with their well cut suits, silk ties and immaculately polished brogues, but what are they really up to?
Here we take a look at some of the occupations that have fallen foul of public opinion in recent years and ask whether beneath their professional veneer, the guys in brogues are really rogues…
Bankers
Bob Diamond ex-Barclays CEO resigned over rogue rates
They’re the fat cats most responsible for the global financial credit crunch. Greedy traders, bloated by enormous bonuses, took huge risks with other people’s money.
When it all went horribly wrong, it was UK taxpayers that paid for their mistakes…and yet the bonus culture persists. Banks like Barclays and Lloyds were started by sober, responsible Quaker families, but most modern financial institutions put profits first.
The money grabbing culture of investment banks gives hard working staff in your local retail banking branch, a bad name. You can’t say everyone who works in a bank is a rogue, but as a sector – it stinks.
Politicians
David Cameron doesn’t always get the thumbs up
Political scandals are nothing new. But the 2009 MP’s expenses scandal exposed institutionalised corruption at the heart of British politics. Since then, regulations have been tightened up and after the last election, there was a huge intake of new blood into the House of Commons.
But as an occupation, politicians continue to be seen as pompous, out of touch and self serving. Research by the London School of Economics, shows that in the UK, there’s been zero improvement in social mobility in thirty years.
Whatever politicians, are doing – it isn’t working. And not even Jeremy Paxman can get them to answer a straightforward question. Rogues in brogues? All too frequently…
CEOs
BP CEO Tony Hayward resigned over oil spill disaster
When it all goes wrong, the buck stops with the company chairman and/or chief executive – right? Wrong. These days, if you make a huge mistake at the helm, you try to brazen it out and stay on the payroll.
If you do decide to do the decent thing, chances are, you’ll pocket an indecent sum of money as a golden goodbye. When BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward finally resigned after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, he pocketed a cool £11 million. Not bad considering that eleven people were killed and 1000 miles of coastline polluted.
Rogues in brogues – what do you think?
Oligarchs
Roman Abramovich – Chelsea fans might love him but…
Fabulously wealthy, they own a host of businesses in the UK, including football clubs and newspapers. Back home in Russia, their money comes from oil, aluminium, and even banks.
From humble beginnings in the chaos of post soviet Russia, somehow, they’ve managed to claw their way to the top. The emphasis here is on ‘somehow’, because all too often the origin of the vast wealth of these hard men, is shrouded in mystery.
Some were petty criminals, others worked for the KGB, now they control strategic assets, of great importance to the UK economy. Russian rogue traders? Quite possibly.
