Labour "Big Beast" Alistair Darling is the bankers pet

Labour’s right wing have launched “operation self destruct” – they hate Ed’s slight shuffle to the left so much that they launched  the entirely made-up fuss over Unite “Fixing” the Falkirk MP’s selection. Unite had done no wrong, but the the Dodgy Dossier style claim promoted by the New Labour gang was enough to divert Ed Miliband into a self destructive battle with the unions.

In the Observer one Cabinet member used Ed Miliband’s stumbling battle with the anti-union Labour right to call for  "the return of a big beast" like "Alistair Darling." If Darling is the answer, they are asking the wrong question : As I have shown in a few columns for the Morning Star, Darling has spent the last few years cramming his pockets with money from dubious bankers. He took £15,000 for doing his little turn for JP Morgan in May. I warned then that JP Morgan's London office was still up to dubious trading, even after the crash. Now US authorities have issued  arrest warrants for JP Morgan traders, who worked with the "London whale" Bruno Iksil, covering up their reckless losses. So the new Labour ministers think bringing back Darling just after his mates get arrested for financial misbehaviour is the best way to get the party fit and working again. Meanwhile the man himself is poncing off yet another bunch of bankers. In July Darling got £8,500 for four hours' work for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Merrill Lynch was absolutely central to the financial crisis, pumping out packages of sub-prime mortgages onto world markets. It lost $50 billion (£32bn) on dodgy trades - and its losses then helped throw the rest of the world's markets into crisis. Merill Lynch went bust and was bought by Bank of America, which itself was only afloat due to $20bn-worth of US government bailout. Bank of America paid a $33 million (£21m) fine to US regulators for hiding its intention to pay out billions in bonuses to the Merrill Lynch traders it had taken over. In 2010 it paid $137m (£88m) in fines to settle charges that they had defrauded hospitals, schools and US town halls over municipal bond sales. In short, Bank of America Merrill Lynch helped cause the crash, got billions in bailouts, paid billions in secret bonuses and cheated the public sector. It represents everything that is rotten in the financial sector. But to Darling, it's just a pay cheque. Labour needs another bankers' friend in the shadow cabinet like it needs a hole in the head. Unfortunately Labour  makes a habit of trepanning itself.