The Rock

It came out this week that Northern Rock has been nationalised. Certainly the shareholders are angry at chancellor, Alistair Darling, whose image and name has taken up many column inches over the last week. But how has the media reacted the news?

Nick Robinson from the BBC posted on his newsblog the political damage: "very serious for the chancellor who, whether he is to blame or not, is now associated with the first nationalisation in decades and the first run on a bank in over a century. serious for the prime minister who has been first to adopt a policy it's clear he was desperate to avoid and took months before taking. the damage to the Labour Party is unpredictable since it may turn out the N word is not as toxic as as was assumed." He suggests reputational and financial damage has taken place. (Source: Nick Robinson, BBC online, February 17, 2008, 11.28pm)

The media have painted the Labour Party, the chancellor, and Gordon Brown in a bad image. The Rock's latest problem is another downfall of the Labour Party.

One aspect that didn't impress the media and the House of Commons was the actions of shadow chacellor, George Osbourne. "George Osbourne's attack on on the chancellor's handling of of the Northern Rock crisis seems not to have impressed his peers. The collective view from the corridors of power is that it was the shadow chancellor who and Not Alistair Darling who came off worse following today's Commons statement." (Source: Deborah Summers, Guardian Unlimited, February 18, 2008, 6.31pm)

From the television and radio news broadcasts the average person doesn't understand the implications of nationalisation, especially the younger population because nationalisation hasn't happened in their lifetime. But the big worry is whether Northern Rock be able to repay tax payers guarantees that apprarantly run into billions of pounds.

Nick Robinson says: "It may be years before the true scale of any loss is clear." (Source: Nick Robinson, BBC online, February 17, 2008, 11.28pm)

It was a bad week for British banking.