Clegg identified the leading players of the Brexit elite as “the hedge-fund managers for whom EU-wide regulations are an overburdensome hindrance to their financial aspirations”.
He added: “[They are also] the owners and editors of the rightwing press, whose visceral loathing of the EU has shaped their respective papers’ tone and coverage for decades; the Tory backbenchers, many of whom still inhabit a preposterous past in which Britannia still rules the waves and diplomacy is best conducted from the royal yacht; a handful of multi-millionaire businessmen who have, in some cases over 30 years or more, bankrolled whichever party, or politician, stands on the most aggressive EU-bashing platform.”
Hillary has infected Cleggie…….
What a ridiculous little man.
I used to have some grudging respect for him, around the time of the Orange Book and having the guts to go in to coalition with the Tories. Since the referendum he’s lost that to be replaced with the same contempt he shows for me.
There must be a reason Clegg lost his seat. I mean, it’s not as if it could be his fault?
What the Cleggster fails to dwell on is why large parts of the hedge fund and private equity industry are so viscerally anti EU – it was the experience of seeing the alternative investment fund managers directive imposed on an industry and its investors that did not want or need regulating by Europe (as the commission itself stated), with a bit of protectionism thrown in, as political revenge for the industry’s perceived role in the crash.
Opened lots of wealthy peoples eyes to what the EU is really about that did
Poor old Clegg, all those years going on about the wonders of the EUSSR, all that brown nosing of EU politicians… And to show our gratitude for his service we not only have kicked him out of the Commons, but also dashed his hopes of a non-job in the E.U. and the fat pension!
RH +1
“the hedge-fund managers for whom EU-wide regulations are an overburdensome hindrance to their financial aspirations”.
So we can finally accept the overburdensome regulations the EU imposes on business can we? Because we simply couldn’t during the referendum campaign.
In my local pub sentiment was 100% pro-brexit. Yet, oddly enough, there’s not a hedge-fund manager or multi-millionaire businessman amongst them.
Oh, fuck off Clegg.
We remember, do we not, that Mandelpoof had to negotiate the EU tariff on aluminium in the comfort of the oligarch’s yacht because the EU Commissioner’s office was too small…
The great EU ruled there was no conflict of interest when Mandy toiled away for two weeks.
Nor any conflict when the tariff disappeared.
Nor when Mandy retired and bought a rather large house…
So don’t lecture me on the evil right wing capitalists and their yachts. You boys love ’em really.
It took a while for your constituents to recognise you were a nonce, but they did at last
The revisionism needs to be continually countered. Narratives like this can change perception of the past.
Sure there may have been some hedge fund managers with a higher risk appetite so voted brexit or even, heaven forbid, took a political view of the EU and voted leave, but remain was definiantly the establishment position. The civil service, political parties bar ukip, the city, the vast majority of the captains of industry, the banks, the us president, world bank, the imf, the cbi, the iod, most economists, academia, the luvvies, the BBC, the FT, the economist and pretty much anyone with a stake in wealth.
I campaigned for VL and have kept an archive of leaflets from us and BSE.
I can whip them out to show how much remain was being backed by capitalist captains of industry.
This narrative both offends me and apparently suckers some leftie idiots that repeat it.
@Rob Harries
I can see how “leftie idiots” and “suckers” seem to belong together but I think “succours” would suit the context better.
/pendantry
🙂
I was anti the EU because I saw EU immigrants get better housing than me – I don’t know how hedge funds managed to arrange that.
I wonder what the opposite of populism is. Perhaps it’s policies that the public don’t want, or policies they do want but aren’t shouting about yet, or policies they should want if only they were better informed like having a market-based health care system. Which is pretty ironic for Cleggy, as a pro-European he is a rejectionist of most things that European countries do better than the UK.
He’s a very confusing guy. Imv.
An odd typo.
Clegg stressed many factors led to the vote to Leave but added “the British tabloid press used the refugee crisis as an emotional calling guard to voters who were still making up their mind”
Were the hedge fund managers on holiday for the General Election campaign? How come they couldn’t fix that?
Of course they were on holiday. The old maxim: sell in May and go away.
I always thought some enterprising conservative should try marketing pale bands for right-wingers to wear on our fingers as a signal to one another.
We could be the vast white ring conspiracy.