OccupyLSX and it's effect

laresSun 06/11/11 12:16

"The protests at St Paul's Cathedral are "danger signals" and reflect the concerns of millions of people, Labour leader Ed Miliband has said. Writing in the Observer, Mr Miliband said the protesters reflected a wider crisis in confidence about the values of those in business and politics.

And ex-bank chairman Ken Costa told the Sunday Telegraph the finance industry had lost sight of the need to do good. The protest against corporate greed began on 15 October at the London site.

In the newspaper article, Mr Miliband warned "only the most reckless" would ignore the Occupy London protest and others around the world."

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"The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, yesterday joined the attack on bankers' pay, claiming excesses in the financial sector had helped to create huge inequalities in wealth, "demonstrating how scandalously unfair our society is".

The Independent on Sunday revealed last week that St Paul's had suppressed the report (on bankers rewards) following the resignation of Canon Chancellor Giles Fraser, amid fears that it would inflame tensions over the Occupy London protest outside the the cathedral.

The study, carried out during the summer by the market research company ComRes, questioned bankers on the ethics of their salaries and bonuses. The IoS understands, when asked whether they thought they were overpaid compared with other professions, a significant number of City workers agreed that they were. However, many thought that lawyers were more overpaid, while doctors' salaries were in line with their responsibilities. A source close to the institute said City workers accepted that teachers and nurses were underpaid."

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"Then in the space of two days the cathedral abandoned legal action, and the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams attempted to wrest back control of the protest agenda.

St Paul's was at pains to show it was not against the campaigners. Dr Williams is at least partly behind their aims. Dr Williams criticised a banking system that encouraged bankers to behave irresponsibly and gave them "soaring bonuses".

He told the BBC: "It's not changing fast enough and people still feel that the public is bearing more of the cost than they ought to. So an occasion like the protest outside St Paul's has been a real focus for people's feelings and their imagination."

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Are people still claiming that a bunch of "Starbucks swilling layabouts" aren't having an effect on the argument? It seems the only people trying to ignore them now is the ConDems and their friends in the city.

urqhart03Sun 06/11/11 13:18

quoting > " It seems the only people trying to ignore them now is the ConDems and their friends in the city."

Not sure I agree there.

As far as I can see once they got the initial publicity all they have achieved is to contribute to the resgination of two clerics. Other than that, I don't think anyone outside of the media and people who are inconvenicenced by them reqally cares what they are doing or campaiging for.

hobbitSun 06/11/11 14:36

quoting > "It seems the only people trying to ignore them now is the ConDems and their friends in the city."

From the news:

THE Archbishop of Canterbury said on Wednesday that a 'cataract of unintended consequences' had fol­lowed the initial welcome offered to protesters by St Paul's Cathedral.

In an article for the Financial Times, Dr Williams said: 'The cath­ed­ral found itself trapped between what must have looked like equally unpleasant courses of action. Two outstandingly gifted clergy have resigned.'

He went on: 'The protest at St Paul's was seen by an unexpectedly large number of people as the expression of a widespread and deep exasperation with the financial establishment that shows no sign of diminishing. There is still a powerful sense around — fair or not — of a whole society paying for the errors and irresponsibility of bankers; of impatience with a return to ‘business as usual', represented by still-soaring bonuses and little visible change in banking practices.'

In a surprise move, the Prime Minister, David Cameron, expressed his support for Dr Williams. During Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons, he said: 'I think the Archbishop of Canterbury speaks, frankly, for the whole country when he says that it is unacceptable in a time of difficulty when people at the top of our society are not showing signs of responsibility.'

laresSun 06/11/11 14:39

quoting > " I don't think anyone outside of the media"

Unless you're including everyone who reads or writes for newspapers in your not "outside the media" I don't know how you can possibly draw that conclusion.