Guess what? Gordon has done something right

Spare a moment for a story in which Gordon Brown is the good guy. Not as exciting as tales of the money trail from David Abrahams to the Labour party’s coffers; nor as bloodcurdling as tales of crimes committed by untold numbers of illegal immigrants; nor as nervous-making as the possibility of identity theft from tens of millions of lost HM Revenue and Customs files; nor as economically immediate as tales of a busted bank. But of more enduring consequence for Britain’s economy and its social structure.

Soon, very soon if City rumours are correct, some top executives will face criminal charges — not from overzealous American cops, but from Britain’s very own cartel busters. This will be the first time that businessmen who conspire to fix prices and overcharge consumers face more than a slap on the wrist. For this protection from extortion, consumers can thank Gordon Brown. The then-Chancellor faced down opposition from several of his colleagues, and the massive apathy of others, to create a new competition regime in Britain, one in which participants in price-fixing cartels would actually go to jail.