Bonuses should only be paid for success

As the Government promises to introduce legislation to combat the excesses of bank bonuses, there is a counter-argument that suggests that if top people are not paid top bonuses, they will "go elsewhere".

If bankers paying themselves large bonuses were indeed to go elsewhere, would the country lose out? Surely the country has already lost out to these gamblers who have brought the country to its knees with a debt-ridden future. If they went elsewhere, one would be tempted to say "good riddance"! I'm all for payment by results, but surely bonuses should only be paid for successful outcomes. The ruination of the banking system hardly qualifies as success.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, voiced concerns that bankers were determined to return to "the bad old days".

Alistair Darling will take the opportunity at the Labour Party Conference in Brighton to lambast the bonus culture in banking. He will warn the banks that "there will be no return to business as usual for them." There will be "an end to automatic bonuses year after year".

Perhaps the bankers will flee the industry. Maybe they'll think about becoming an MP - with all those lovely expenses!