A LABOUR MSP is facing criticism from within his own party after inviting a banking chief to Holyrood to share his “unique perspective” on the cost of living crisis.
Scottish Labour’s business spokesperson Daniel Johnson arranged a breakfast briefing for Labour MSPs with the Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) chief economist Seb Burnside, due to take place on March 7.
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The invite said that Burnside would “share his unique perspective on the latest trends in the Scottish economy, and how cost of living pressures are impacting families, homes budget and businesses across the country.”
A Labour source told The National that the party shouldn’t be cosying up with bankers.
They said: “It must be some kind of sick joke to invite the bank that helped crash our economy, allowing the Tories to impose austerity, to advise us on how to cope with the cost of living crisis.
“We don’t need to hear from these people, they’ve done enough damage while lining their own pockets.
“The Labour leadership’s love-in with the banks, while breaking pledge after pledge and scaling back the green investment plans, calls into question whose side we’ll be on in government."
Daniel Johnson MSP has been contacted for comment.
It comes after shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves faced criticism for saying the Labour Party would not reinstate the cap on bankers' bonuses, which was removed during Liz Truss's disastrous mini-Budget.
Reeves said the party has "no intention" of reinstating the cap, which limits annual payouts to twice a banker's salary, and instead said she would be the "champion" of the UK's financial services industry.
This is despite accusations of "unjust" profiteering by banks during the cost of living crisis.
NatWest Group’s latest annual report for the Royal Bank of Scotland highlighted the “beneficial impact of interest rate rises” on the bank’s net interest income (NII).
NII refers to the amount of profit a bank earns from charging higher interest rates to borrowers than they pay out to account holders.
Indeed, in 2022 the bank’s operating profit before tax rose 33% to £5.1 billion.
The bonus pool for staff also increased from £298 million to £367.5m between 2021 and 2022.
The profits were partly down to steep increases in loan and mortgage costs as interest rates soared and people struggled to cope with the cost of living crisis.
In 2022, chief executive Alison Rose became the first RBS chief executive to receive a cash bonus since the bank was bailed out by the government in 2007.
She received a £326,000 bonus on top of her £5.2m pay package.
Last year, she was due to receive around £7.6m in share awards, bonuses and variable remuneration.
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However, she lost out on the cash following her resignation over a scandal involving Nigel Farage’s bank account.
She will be paid her basic salary of £1.7m over the 12 months until the end of her notice period in July 2024.
The UK Government currently has a 38.6% stake in RBS parent company NatWest after selling off £1.26 billion worth of shares last year.
It comes after it was confirmed the UK officially entered a recession at the end of 2023.
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