City fights for its survival as the European Financial Centre

Election day and I don't give a toss. I have just had Paddy Pantsdown sitting outside our polling station asking who I was when I tried to vote. I made the point to the great Lord Pomposity that I thought this was a secret ballot and I had the right to vote without being importuned by political appointees. I introduced myself at the golf club yesterday as the none of the above lying bastards parliamentary candidate and received 100% pledges of support. It won't make any difference who forms the next government. Hard times are coming and the EU noose is tightening on our countries throat.

The Greek crisis has scared the shit out of our Brussels rulers but of course it is not their fault for admitting a basket case economy to their Euro club and their solution as always is more regulations for banks and markets that must be based in Euroland where it can be properly, ie politically, supervised and controlled. The awkward fact that they did not do their due diligence on Greece before admitting it to the Euro club is conveniently forgotten.

The French, ever the ones to turn a crisis to their national advantage, want regulation and settlement systems and credit rating to be re-located to Paris. This plays well with these well known Anglophobes, Napoleon Sarkozy, Tricky Jean-Claude and M Barnier who runs industrial policy in the European Commission. Nothing is more important than French national interests!

To this end they are aided by two of the wisest fools in England, Adair Turner, head of the FSA and Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England. Turner has publicly challenged the 'social usefulness' of much finance whilst Mervyn has openly questioned whether it is desirable to have such a large financial centre in the midst of the British economy. Something like lions led by donkeys springs to mind. The French have no such scruples and are itching to impose their own code Napoleon Sarkozy on the errant financial markets.

Merkel demands the CDS clearing and trade repositories be located in the Eurozone, a mortal threat to London's OTC trade.

Merkel and Sarkozy want to control the markets and not be controlled by them as currently happens. King Canute had a similar ambition with the tide although some say he did it to show it could not be done. Brussels cannot accept that pragmatic view.

We have surrendered without a fight the golden heart of the UK. It was always the EU plan to seize this asset but even they must be staggered at how little resistance they met.