Banksters seize power in Britain Source: (https://bit.ly/3DwyYe2) THE news that Liz Truss's new Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng is proposing to lift the cap on bankers bonuses is surprising only in terms of its brazenness, coming as it does amid the cost-of-profits crisis, the threat of poverty for working people and Tory calls for "wage restraint" in the public sector. Indeed, other than the timing, this move is otherwise absolutely par for the course for this nakedly right-wing and ideologically driven Tory government. Make no mistake, successive Conservative Cabinets have been unhappy with the bonus cap ever since it was introduced back in 2014 - but none have been bold enough to try and remove it during an age of austerity. But now, after more than a decade of Tory rule and austerity becoming the new normal, cometh the hour, cometh Truss and Kwarteng. Just what is the hated bonus cap they want to do away with? A limit on end-of-year bonuses restricting them to twice the annual salary. So, a City banker on ?1 million a year could only receive a measly bonus of 2m. City bosses claim they need the cap removed to improve competitiveness. Kwarteng says it's part of his "unashamedly pro-growth plan" for the economy. The underlying rationale here is that working people should be grateful to the swashbuckling City bankers and their profiteering, which somehow, somewhere, benefits the whole country. Truss has even been so bold as to describe the City as "the jewel in the crown" of Britain's economy. The problem is that it's just not true. When the banks and hedge funds make billions there is no benefit for working people. There is no socially useful purpose to their speculation. Instead, we foot the bill through attacks on wages, increases in prices and the privatisation of public services. These same bankers and speculators are playing a substantial role in driving up fuel prices and inflation. The cyclical crises of capitalism have far deeper structural roots than bankers' bonuses. But even former Bank of England figures indicate that this is ill-timed and reflects a return to even more unregulated and aggressive speculation. Clearly Kwarteng wants to take us back to the pre-2008 crash heyday. For her part, Truss's attempts to style herself as Margaret Thatcher reincarnate goes beyond blouses. She is planning to lead a government of the rich, by the rich, for the rich - without any of the pretence of David Cameron, Theresa May or Boris Johnson. Deregulation of the City will be one priority. Attacks on workers rights and living standards will be the main thrust. All this comes at a time when working people face widespread poverty and spiralling living costs. More than half of low-paid workers have used foodbanks in the last 12 months. Consumer confidence is negative for the first time in two years. The two are interrelated. Britain's ruling class and its Tory Party are planning another massive transfer of wealth from working people to the rich to shore them up during this crisis. The gauntlet has been thrown down to the left and the labour movement. Another two years of Tory attacks will be nothing short of disastrous for working people. The time for a working-class counteroffensive is now.