The financial services industry comes in for a lot of flack, often rightly. So when a politician lays into the industry, it is not really a surprise.
But when that politician makes outrageous claims about financial services, then maybe we should take notice. Especially when he claims that “the financial industry doesn’t care about the man on the street”.
Further, the politician concerned says: “The financial services industry has done a bad job with other people’s money and I want to help find a better way.” In short, this politician is claiming to want to take on the establishment and give people a better deal.
It is the kind of thing we have heard from Nigel Farage for years – for it is he who has made these claims – but now he’s turned his attention away from Europe and onto people’s finances, with a daily newsletter offering tips and ‘insight’ into the financial sector.
Unsurprisingly his patter is very similar to that which he has used throughout his political career.
“I am not afraid to take on this new fight on your behalf. I will say what needs to be said (and I don’t care if the woke media attack me for it),” he tells prospective customers.
I use the words ‘customers’ because, let’s be absolutely clear about this, Mr Farage is not taking on the financial services industry, he is simply trying to flog alternative investment tips.
Seasoned professionals will have seen this again and again over the years as all sorts of folk have made outrageous claims to be able to help people make a fortune.
The schemes usually involve unsuspecting punters being encouraged or tricked into sending cash to smooth-talking salespeople who promise them all sorts of unlikely profits from get-rich-quick schemes.
‘It’s the secret that finance experts want to keep to themselves,’ is often the enticing claim. But when victims send their cash, they are usually told about the latest dodgy investment schemes.
So what is different about Mr Farage’s offer? As he says himself: “I have 40 years of experience in finance and politics. I have deep-rooted contacts that provide me with intelligence and a unique perspective.”
He is certainly a persuasive man, even though he never persuaded voters to back him in the seven times he stood for election as an MP. But he knows his rhetoric, and it is rhetoric he uses to try and get people to sign up to his latest wheeze.
“Let’s play a game,” he says. “True or false: the government will do all it can to provide for you. True or false: the financial establishment have your best interests at heart.
“True or false: you can trust all you read in the mainstream media. If you answered true, you need to open your eyes.”
