The dead hand of Gordon Brown

Let us hark back to the heady days of November 2005:

CHANCELLOR Gordon Brown is set to give way over plans to seize funds in dormant bank accounts. (1) There is an estimated £1bn lying in accounts that have not been used for more than three years (2) and the Government had said the cash would be siphoned off to charities chosen by a commission headed by Labour Party donor Sir Ronald Cohen. (3)

But it is now understood Brown, faced with a blizzard of protest, will use next Monday's Pre-Budget Report to modify the plan. The Tory Party,(4) banks and building societies had attacked the redistribution plan, raising doubts as to whether Government has the legal right to seize the funds.(5)

1) A tactical retreat only.

2) This figure was later revised to £400 million which has been in dormant bank accounts for over fifteen years.

3) Aha! Would that be the same Sir Ronald Cohen, the venture capitalist who is now chairman of Big Society Capital? You can't fault him for staying power.

4) Aha! Would that be the same Tory Party which has now actually implemented the plan?

5) The law is what the government says it is. There has always been a law on unclaimed deposits (i.e. payments in advance for goods and services which are then never demanded), so tweaking it a bit for dormant accounts is not that far-fetched.