Farron launches proposal to give bank shares to local people

South Lakes MP Tim Farron has announced proposals to give shares in RBS and Lloyds to the British people.

Tim is proposing that most of the Government's stake in the banks would be shared between 46 million adults. The Government spent £65.8bn buying shares in the banking giants and owns 83% of RBS and 41% of Lloyds. Tim's proposal is that these shares could not be sold until they had passed the price paid by the government and only gains made above that floor price could be kept.

At current prices every adult in South Lakeland would receive shares worth just under £1000.

Tim, who is also President of the Liberal Democrats, said: "There is a danger that when the banks return to the private sector, it is business as usual. Local people I speak to in my surgeries or in the street tell me that we need to get something positive in return for the bailout.

"HM Treasury needs to recover the approximately £66 billion it spent bailing out the two banks, but after that its vital that any benefit should go direct to hard pressed families and individuals who are having to make sacrifices because of the downturn."