When you consider that the City and the Conservative party are at least partially responsible for the failed policies that caused the economic crisis, their complacency over the Eurozone crisis is alarming. David Cameron and the Lord Mayor now have questions to answer.

David Cameron and Lord Mayor derail 'Robin Hood' Tax

Occupy London are interested to learn that the Prime Minster David Cameron has refused to sign a new EU treaty, claiming he 'did it for Britain.' However it seems fairer to say that Cameron's obstruction of the treaty was down to just one key detail  - it did not contain 'safeguards' for the City of London. In fact, Mr Cameron blocked the treaty because of the proposed European financial transaction tax under a pre-arranged guarantee for London's Square Mile. While it seems that we may not be 'all in this together', David Cameron and the Lord Mayor certainly are.

Germany proposed the financial transaction tax, which the UK Government blocked, as part of new rules being drawn up to begin a bail-out of Italy and Spain. Co-incidentally, the Lord Mayor of London David Wootton announced last week that he'd visited Sweden to discuss joint action to derail the so-called 'Tobin Tax' - around the time the country was due to begin holding the rotating presidency of the EU. In what appears to be a lobbying expedition the Lord Mayor added that he would be visiting Cyprus later in the year to discuss the issue, shortly before the island is passed the presidency by Sweden.

Given that the government has made repeated attempts to blame the UK's current financial crisis on the Eurozone, it seems contradictory to veto a tax proposed as a measure to save it. When you consider that the City of London Corporation and the Conservative party are at least partially responsible for the failed policies that caused the economic crisis in the first place, the reasons for their current complacency seem more worrying.

Occupy London feel that David Cameron and the Lord Mayor now have some questions to answer.

Why are they jointly opposed to the European financial transaction tax? Is this just co-incidence or is there a clear conduit of influence from the corporation into government? What exactly did the Lord Mayor say in conversation with the Swedish Premier about the financial transaction tax? And will the Prime Minster explain to the British people the exact nature of the advocacy he and George Osbourne have carried out on behalf of the corporation since the coalition government was formed? And finally, should the Eurozone collapse will the Prime Minister take full responsibility for the consequences of the government's intransigence and ensure that the City of London Corporation foot the bill for this mistake and not the British people. 

Unfortunately, unless this thousand year-old Oligarchy is reformed and prevented from making government policy over-and-above the will of the British people, our democracy will remain broken.  A sethering of the political links between the city and government are needed more than ever, lest the people of this country end up suffering once more for the recklessness of a government that simply doesn't care and a city motivated only by greed, power and nepotism.

Bryn Phillips