In drawing up my post of 1st October ("Green wash-out"), I tried to find a previous posting of mine in which I accused Cameron and Osborne of going out of their way to spite the Liberal Democrats over the sale of the Green Investment Bank. It should not have been sold at all, of course, but it could have been the subject of competitive bidding by a roster of selected institutions which would preserve its raison d'etre. Instead, the GIB was let go in what appears to have been a sweetheart deal to a bank with an appalling record, as if to rub Lib Dem noses in the extent to which Cameron had deceived the nation over his ecological intentions. In the event, Vince Cable got there first and I either binned my contribution or posted in the more transient Facebook.
Vince had written last year:
The Green Investment Bank's environmental mission is in danger of disappearing under the ownership of a private Australian bank whose track record does not inspire confidence.
Sadly, this is another of the positive legacies of the Liberal Democrats in government that the Conservatives are now burying.
But I also found that Chris Huhne had foreseen in 2006 the way that Macquarie was to gouge Thames Water, racking up at least half-a-dozen environmental outrages in the process:
Commenting on the takeover of Thames Water, Liberal Democrat Shadow
Environment Secretary, Chris Huhne MP said:
“Ofwat needs to look at this purchase very closely, and prepare to be
far more prescriptive in its conditions for investment and customer
service. The last thing Thames Water customers need is another gouging
of the consumer to meet a corporate borrowing binge.
“This is a potentially worrying takeover because Macquarie has the
reputation for borrowing large amounts of cash to buy its acquisitions,
which it then attaches to the company. This can mean that investment is
cut to the bone while the outfit is sweated for cash to meet its
interest and debt repayments."
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