To mark the tenth anniversary of the global financial crisis, Labour in the City launched an anthology of writing on the future of the financial services industry at a reception at London’s Guildhall with Alistair Darling, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer.

More than 150 Labour in the City members heard Lord Darling offer his recollections on his role in stabilising the UK economy at the height of the banking crisis, and answer questions about the future of the industry.

Lord Darling recounted taking a call, while at a 2008 European summit in Luxembourg, from Tom McKillop, then chairman of RBS, who revealed that his bank was haemorrhaging money and was in danger of running out of liquidity within “three to four hours”. The two golden rules of salvaging a situation, according to the former Chancellor, are to move quickly and to go further in shoring up confidence than anybody anticipates – rules which, he pointed out, the European Union has failed to heed in trying to prop up Greece.

Labour in the City’s anthology contains writing from John McFarlane, chairman of Barclays; Jonathan Reynolds, shadow economic secretary to the Treasury; Ann Pettifor, the author and economist; Craig Donaldson, chief executive of Metro Bank; Simon Lewis, chief executive of AFME; Deborah Hargreaves, director of the High Pay Centre; Xavier Rolet, former chief executive of the London Stock Exchange and Anneliese Dodds, shadow Treasury minister.

Ten years on: banking beyond the crisis can be downloaded here …

Join us to receive advance details of future events at this link …