The Spectator’s Notes: Politicians and bankers both treat their most loyal backers like dirt

The Daily Telegraph’s revelation last Friday that the Financial Conduct Authority was going to arraign companies for 30 years of mis-selling pensions and other products ‘wiped’, as papers like to say, £4 billion off insurance stocks. George Osborne is putting pressure on the chief executive Martin Wheatley to go. The leak was highly embarrassing for the FCA, but the issue itself matters more. It is about how such companies treat longstanding customers. The way they work is through sellers, who hook someone for life in one go, and so the companies do not know or care about their customers. This is a parable of a much wider problem in society, which is that being loyal is considered stupid. It applies strongly to political parties. Traditionally, they have ‘sold’ their policies to individuals and collected membership fees in return. Over the years, it has become ever clearer that those paying the fees are the group in society most disrespected by the parties who take their money.