Petition: Kick bankers out of Parliament

The campaign group Avaaz has started a new petition you might want to sign:

This past week, the City of London held elections in which, as usual, corporations were allowed to cast more votes than actual people. But what’s worse is that now the corporate-run City gets to appoint a special lobbyist to sit INSIDE Parliament to make draft laws better for bankers!  But we have a chance right now to make one simple change to start to take back our democracy.

The special lobbyist is called “The Remembrancer” (seriously!) and for centuries has been given a unique privilege to sit inside the House of Commons where, with the help of six lawyers, he works to protect the interests of bankers. But a simple decision by one MP can ban the Remembrancer from the chamber for good — let’s convince Speaker of the House John Bercow MP to take bankers off Parliament’s guest list.

Before the City’s new rulers decide how to direct their lobbying firepower, tell speaker Bercow to kick the bankers out of Parliament and share this with others: 

Sign the petition here

Centuries ago, the City of London demanded special privileges based on its ancient status and The Remembrancer is one that has survived.  But these days, all it does is give powerful bankers an outrageously unfair advantage in our government. The Remembrancer spends £6 million a year on changing laws to benefit bankers. This financial firepower is twinned with a level of political access no other lobbyist can match. Nurses, teachers, farmers, even other big industries don’t have the same right to sit in our Parliamentand see laws before they get passed.

The City of London Corporation is unlike any other local authority in the world. Incredibly, big banks and businesses are allowed to vote in City elections, and their votes are given more weight — vastly more, in fact — than those of actual local residents. In elections this week, bankers voted to keep pushing the same corporate agenda — treating this hugely wealthy government as their privileged and powerful lobby machine.

It’s crazy that part of London has a government that’s accountable to corporations rather than citizens. It’s outrageous that this government spends millions every year lobbying Parliament to help bankers. The first step to defanging the banker’s cabal is to take away their right to sit in the House of Commons. Click here to kick the City out of our Parliament.