Lord Lawson of Blaby
Main Page: Lord Lawson of Blaby (Conservative - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Lawson of Blaby's debates with the HM Treasury
(13 years, 4 months ago)
Lords ChamberMy Lords, what I said is that we are considering all options for the disposal of the shares in RBS and Lloyds Banking Group. My right honourable friend the Deputy Prime Minister has asked the Treasury to consider a particular disposal option, and that is what UKFI and the Treasury are doing.
Will my noble friend tell the Treasury that there is no need to consider this tired old suggestion for long? It was fully considered in 1979 when we embarked on the original privatisation programme and I am sure that his officials will be very pleased to give him all the old papers showing that it bristles with practical difficulties, not least the precise method of allocation, quite apart from the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Barnett. Will my noble friend also bear in mind the wise words of that great radical, Thomas Paine:
“What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly”.