'Lord Hill needs to be Commissioner for everyone, not just the City'

Responding to the announcement of Lord Hill as Commissioner for Financial Services today (11 September), Glenis Willmott MEP, Labour's leader in Europe, said: "Lord Hill has been given an important position in the new Commission, and he must use this responsibility to secure the changes we need to make the EU work better. He cannot be Commissioner just for the City of London, but for all citizens, who throughout Europe are still feeling the shockwaves of the global financial crash - he must be the Commissioner for young people looking for work; for companies struggling to survive; for families noticing the squeeze on their living standards.

"In order to build a strong recovery we need to learn the lessons from this crisis and reform the European economy so it works for all of us. Labour MEPs have fought for economic reforms so Europe works better - we stood up to the banking sector, backing new laws to curb bankers’ bonuses; we supported restrictions to the casino culture in the finance sector; we battled against unfettered credit default swaps and unstable speculation in commodities such as food; and we increased transparency for equity and derivatives trading. The great lesson from the global crash is unrestricted markets are inherently short-term and unstable. That’s why we need a responsible capitalism, working for the benefit of hardworking people everywhere."

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