We learn today that George Osborne will say in his Budget that he’s using the fines he’s collected from bankers to build a memorial to terror victims. I find this juxtaposition rather odd: why link terrorism to banking? Why not just be honest: that any memorial will be funded from the the same tax pool as everything else? But moreover, I do wonder where this memorial will go. We’re told that the Chancellor will consult with the relatives of the victims before agreeing a location. These memorials do serve a purpose: they become part of the world our ministers operate in; part of their daily lives. Most politicians will know every memorial in Westminster – who they commemorate, and why.
You can see what has given him the idea. In his short walk from Downing St to the Treasury, Osborne passes a massive monument to the victims of the Bali nightclub bomb (pictured, above).
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