Banks cancelling accounts: Is it Orwellian?
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Perhaps not essential but modern life under capitalism is difficult to negotiate without a smart phone and a bank account.
Cancelling peoples bank accounts without warning is gaining traction.
In 2022 many participating in the Canadian truckers convoy protests found themselves suddenly unable to access their money.
Now, within a very short space of time the same is happening to Nigel Farage (Coutts), Wings over Scotland, a twitterer (FirstDirect),
possibly Lawrence Fox, founder of Reclaim,(Barclays), (he thinks it about to happen but not known yet) and a Windemere vicar (Yorkshire Building Society).
Some of these may not be deserving of any sympathy because of the views they hold and espouse but this trend has to be seen as a very worrying one.
What does this have to do with socialists? Not saying it would but it could happen to anyone of us. Not wearing a tinfoil hat but where are the directions to take such actions against individuals coming from?
There is talk about making cash redundant and replacing it with a central bank digital currency. The control of the individual would then be even more within the purlieu of the State.
Would this put us nearer China’s social credit system?
Is this designed to send a message to the majority not to ‘rock the boat’ or propagandise opinions with which they disagree? If you hold views we disagree with we will punish you?
Are those who say, I don’t mind cctv everywhere because I’ve nothing to hide going to also say that sort of action will never happen to me?
Are bank workers who implement these bans, on orders from their bosses, happy to do so or is it just considered to be an unquestioning part of the job?
The need more Socialism grows more and more imperative by the day.
What’s it going to take for people to wake up to that fact?First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
—Martin NiemöllerIs this because of their views or because they have had payments in from Russia? The banks are shit-scared of being fined for breaking sanctions. Even if the UK authorities let them get away with it the US authorities might not.
Let’s see if Laurence Fox has his closed. In any event, his party can’t accept donations from abroad (nor can we).
I accept your point, I’m not even going to suggest “allegedly” that that might be the case. Wings over Scotland is a long time critic of the SNP.
The Vicar has said it may very well be because he queried Yorkshire’s promotion of gender ideology. Obviously, anything in media needs a big pinch of salt. It does appear, though not in Fox’s case because nothing has happened there yet, that not very much notice was given and no explanations for the closures were forthcoming. All socialists adhere to the Voltaire principle, we do don’t we, but it does seem that ‘outrage’ at these institutions actions are muted because those at the end of it are perceived as being at the wrong end of the political spectrum.
Has the sequestration of Russia’s financial assets been discussed on the Russia thread? Not taking anyone’s side here obviously but do we know of historical instances where this ‘weapon’ has been used before.
Does it happen in China?Weren’t some of the funds of the NUM “sequestrated” during the miners’ strike to pay the state the fines that the courts had imposed? Straightforward “confiscation” has been much more common (and of course that is what the working class will do to the physical assets of the capitalist class once they win control of political power).
For the moment I think they have only frozen Russian financial assets. Sequestrating or confiscating them would be tricky legally and might set precedents they don’t want.
One of these would be to undermine the role of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency used to settle international payments. In fact even freezing Russia’s assets may have done this, as other states may now be less inclined to hold their financial reserves in dollars if they can avoid this in case this should happen to them.
I thought that BRICS was relatively recent but it was formed in 2009.
They’re having a summit in August to talk about a gold backed digital currency.(Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa).
Surprisingly it’s difficult to find some solid information about the NUM’s sequestered funds. I think Price Waterhouse may certainly have sequestered the South Wales funds. I think the NUM may have received money from Russia and a smear campaign suggested the it had had money from Libya too.
Lawrence Fox is now tweeting that he’s going into his bank on Monday morning and demanding every single penny he has with them back.
Good luck with that. You get Stasi interrogated nowadays if you want to withdraw what they consider to be too much . What do you want it for they demand.So Farange has had his account with Coutts closed. But how did he get to open one there in the first place?
“To open an account all UK clients and expats are required to save £3m+ or borrow (such as through a mortgage) or invest more than £1m with Coutts.”
Over £3 million in savings. Not bad for a populist ranter.
If everyone in the SPGB became a populist ranter could we all acquire three million quid too? Think of the advertising Socialism campaign we could mount with that combined sort of dosh!
Laurence Fox is a candidate in the coming by-election in Uxbridge on 20 July. Making a song and dance about withdrawing his money from Barclays could be a publicity stunt to help his election campaign.
I totally concur.
I like the look of Count Binface in the by-election. Joke.
His polices from when he fought 2019 campaign include:
Nationalising model railways.
Allowing any Czechs on the Irish Border to remain.
Nationalising Adele, the English singer.
Abolishing the House of Lords. He had previously pledged the same in 2017 as Lord Buckethead.
Giving free broadband to everyone,
Stopping the sale of arms to repressive regimes.
Plus some other silly ones.
Perhaps someone should do a Mary Poppins and tell Fox and the other would be pols that promises are like pie crusts, easily made, easily broken.
Yes, it was Jonathon Swift who said that in a a better way.Apparently Farage was booted out of Coutts because his savings (with them) fell below £3 million. Poor him. He always was a member of the capitalist class anyway. Not that he did the majority of them a favour by helping to bring about Brexit. He himself thinks that they are paying him back for this. There’s a pretext for a Brexiteer conspiracy theory here. What with Boris being driven out of parliament and the downfall of Crispin Odey, one of the dodgy financiers who funded the Vote No campaign:
The Financial Times has a story that Farage’s account has been moved from Coutts to the NatWest.
Oh the ignominy, the shame! Does this mean he’s been downgraded and is now a paid up member of the working class? I suppose that would be more likely if he had downgraded to the Co-Op. At least then he could have picked up the divvy.
Note to moderator, this is an attempt at humour and is not intended to denigrate any individual or any banking organisation. Particularly not the latter.
When, not if, this happens again, will it become known as, ‘I’ve been faraged’?
Conspiracy theorist apparently dates from 1863.
There is some merit to the suggestion that it’s payback for Brexit.
Personally, I’m inclined to the theory that it’s the WEF sending out signals to any elite wavelets out there. Hang on, my foil hat needs adjusting.It seems that Farage’s bank account was cancelled because of his political views. So, yes, a disturbing development, especially as imposed by “progressives” not reactionaries. Supposed do-gooders who are really do-badders.
“It seems that Farage’s bank account was cancelled because of his political views.”
Is that actually true though? And why now? His views have been the same, and well-known, for a long time. Either way, he has never been locked out of banking, just had his account moved from one subsidiary to another. It seems for him “non-person” means someone who has a standard high-street account.
There is a huge irony that Nigel Meringue has claimed that his “politics” are the source of discrimination.
He has campaigned loudly against the ECHR and the Equality Act and argued that employers should be make the decisions that businesses make should be based on their own individual judgements.
Suddenly because the owners of Coutts decide that he’s a first class bell end and having him as a customer has an impact on them, it’s not fair and against his rights.
He’s always reminded me of the kind of big mouthed arseholes that spend most of their lives standing on the end of golf club bars, telling anyone who cares to listen that “the solution’s simple, blah, blah, blah”
What a twat
I thought this was an interesting response to it from Peter Oborne:
Peter Oborne Exposes the Nigel Farage Banking Hypocrisy @OborneTweets pic.twitter.com/k3q0j9mVbS
— Double Down News (@DoubleDownNews) July 20, 2023
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