Let’s Take Our Overdrafts Elsewhere

Jack Watson & Roger Watson

Much has been written about the Farage affair and his run in with Coutts Bank. It seems that almost every day there is a new revelation and, if all goes well, the story will run for a few more weeks.

On 29th June, Nigel Farage, the broadcaster and former politician famously known for his role in the Brexit campaign, had his bank account closed by Coutts Bank. It turns out he was not alone, but merely one of many high-profile people who have suffered a similar fate. At the time, the BBC stated the reason for Farage’s debanking was that he fell below the financial threshold required to be a customer at Coutts, not because of his opinions. Coutts advises its clients should be able to borrow or invest £1 million with the bank, or hold £3 million in savings. However, we now know that this was a complete lie, and the truth has unfolded. The head of the bank, Dame Alison Rose, has had to resign, and the BBC were forced to issue an apology. Incidentally, that is the BBC’s second apology of the week; the first being over one of its reporters asking the Moroccan women’s football team how many of them were lesbians. Admittedly, we awaited the response with bated breath, but none was forthcoming as a FIFA official put a stop to the line of questioning.

The real reason for Farage’s account closure, the one which everybody sensible believed in the first place, was that his views were not compatible with those of the bank. After issuing a subject access request, documents obtained by Farage stated: “The committee did not think continuing to bank Nigel Farage was compatible with Coutts given his publicly-stated views that were at odds with our position as an inclusive organisation. This was not a political decision but one centred around inclusivity and purpose.”

That excuse did not age well; this was definitely a political decision. Banks are supposed to worry about money, not about customer opinions. They have become a branch of the thought police.

One of the most interesting aspects of the affair is the way that those with Farage derangement syndrome jumped with joy at the news about his account being closed, and who are now apoplectic at the resignation and apology. Several people who identify as comedians, including Omid Djalili, took to Twitter to bemoan these actions as tantamount to defending racism. Can you imagine what they’d say if Billy Bragg (who identifies as a singer) had his bank account closed on the basis of his views?

Farage, who should never be underestimated for his tenacity, went to war with Coutts and NatWest, which part owns Coutts along with the UK taxpayer, demanding that NatWest’s board members be sacked or quit. Dame Alison Rose has eventually done the decent thing, as has Peter Flavel, the Head of Coutts. Chairman of NatWest, Sir Howard Davies, is standing firm for now, but with Farage fired up, that may only be a matter of time. Here is an excerpt from what Farage had to say about Dame Rose’s resignation:

“She’s gone, and that’s a start, but … It was the board that sanctioned this culture that talks about diversity and inclusion … frankly, I think the whole board needs to go.”

Farage is correct. If private and public institutions are free to restrict the public’s access to finance, based on politics rather than pecuniary responsibility, then free speech is clearly no longer a right. What gets into the public domain will be filtered through boards of directors tripping over themselves to be more woke than their competitors. 

In fulfilment of the ‘go woke, go broke’ dictum, the NatWest share price has dropped to the bottom of the FTSE 100 index, with £600 million already wiped from the bank’s stock market value. Shares in other banks signed up to the woke agenda—Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays—have also followed suit. Perhaps we are beginning to see a boycott of banks which are more interested in our views than in our money.

Not taking any chances, your correspondents have taken the appropriate pre-emptive action. Instead of waiting for the bank to get in touch with us, we have closed our Coutts bank accounts.

Roger Watson is a retired academic, editor and writer. He is a columnist with Unity News Network and writes regularly for a range of conservative journals including The Salisbury Review and The European Conservative. He has travelled and worked extensively in the Far East and the Middle East. He lives in Kingston upon Hull, UK.

Jack Watson has a Substack newsletter called Ten Foot Tigers about being a Hull City fan. You can subscribe here.

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