Here Kitty, Kitty

Lets check out the New Minister for the City, Kitty Ussher, in her speech yesterday at Merrills. Peter Bottomley's niece, yes really, had this to say. Following on from Ed Balls, it appears its now necessary for Labour Treasury Ministers to try and rewrite history, as well as trying to spin the present.

After telling the City all about itself (did she used to work as a Management Consultant?) Kitty went onto describe Britain in 1997

First she mentioned Independence of the Bank of England. Lets just hope she acknowledges how much better the Bank of England is run when Labour's cats keep their paws out.

"the financial sector's regulatory framework was fragmented and burdensome"

Nothing like it is now Kitty, when Financial Sector increasingly seeks to remove itself from the goldplating FSA and instead goes for the lighter and more commercial touches found elsewhere in Europe. And don't try and pass of the European introduction of Basel II as a Labour party invention, please....

"Thirdly, we were seeing chronic underinvestment. We addressed that by reducing Capital Gains Tax, but also by focusing on the investment chain - the series of relationships that link savers, borrowers and investment."

Hang on Pussy. Would that be the reduction in CGT (which itself replaced the abolition of many exemptions that benefitted enterpreneurs) that Labour MPs are bitching about in connection with Private Equity? Was the investment chain helped by abolishing the Pension Tax Credit? Has the UK's tax regime become more competitive? Because no-one else believes that

Her analysis doesn't get any better:

"But I believe that London is strengthened as a global financial centre by Britain's EU membership."

Like to provide details on how Switzerland and Hong Kong became major financial centres whilst staying outside the EU?

"And we're seeing key European banks like Deutsche Bank, Société Générale and BNP Paribas locating substantial parts of their wholesale operations in London"

They've been here for years dear. Check out Dublin and see how many of their ops are their now compared to 1997

"So as I said, consider me the City's ambassador within Europe"

Kitty has Europhile form. Later readers,

"Thirdly, we have to realise the importance of the UK having the right skills in place. London already has a hugely talented workforce. That's the result of both the UK's high quality education and training, and of our openness to inward migration -demonstrated by one quarter of London's senior managers in financial and business services coming from abroad"

Granted that immigration of talent into the City is a great benefit. But, I think you might like to check out the UK's education system, UK graduates now suffer problems spelling, let alone punctuating.

The TaxCutter's research will revert to Kitty's EU History in due course. She's got form and the TaxCutter won't forget it.