Are the banks Labour’s next target?

During the course of Ed Miliband’s leadership the party has had some of its greatest successes when there has been a clear and identifiable “big bad” in its sights. Rupert Murdoch. Energy Companies. The Daily Mail. All have been targeted by Labour under Miliband’s leadership and all have acted as proxies for the kind of politics – and Britain – that the Labour leader professes he wants to build.

It’s an effective tactic – albeit a bit brutalist at times – but the problem with a permanent campaign against bogeymen is that you always need a new one. The energy price freeze – for example – was effective, but now attacking the rampant greed of energy companies has become somewhat passé. And whilst the Labour leader may have no love for the Mail or the Sun, he’s willing to engage with them again now, after periods where they were Miliband Enemy Number One.

The need for a new target is great, but what’s needed is one that meets certain criteria. Something that everyone has to interact with perhaps, but few believe they receive a fair deal from? So far, so energy companies. But what if some of them were also largely to blame – through a combination of greed and incompetence – for the financial crisis and recession which the country is only now beginning to dig itself out of. And what if some of those in that sector pay themselves exorbitant bonuses whilst victims of the financial crash they helped cause are still struggling to get by five years on. What if – and we’re really shooting for the stars now – George Osborne had even gone to court to try and defend that bonus culture?

There’s only one sector that fits the bill – banks. The only question is why Labour didn’t go after the banking sector sooner. If left-populism is en vogue in the Labour Party, surely there’s no more popular target to take a swipe at than banks and bankers?

This week, it seems the Labour leadership will be making up for lost time with a series of interventions on the banks. Today, Labour will be forcing a vote in the commons designed to force George Osborne to vote against excessive bonuses as the state-owned RBS (Osborne was against big bonuses at RBS back in 2009, so he’s in a potentially tight spot there).

Then later this week, there’s Ed Miliband’s much-trailed and hyped economy speech.

Last night the Westminster Village got itself in a flutter after a hurriedly pulled together Newsnight report claimed that a market cap of 25% would be introduced to force banks to downsize, sell branches on the high street and allow new and smaller players to get a foothold in the market. Whilst the party have today sought to distance themselves from the specifics of the Newsnight report, it certainly seems like greater banking competition on the high street is high on Labour’s agenda, based on Shadow Chief Secretary Chris Leslie’s comments on Radio 4 this morning.

The full detail of Miliband’s speech is yet to emerge, and is being kept tightly guarded (which is why there was such surprise last night that Newsnight appeared to have gained some level of insight three days out from the big day). But the broad brushstroke seems clear. The banks aren’t working to serve the British people, or the economy. And if Miliband is serious about building a different kind of economy, he’ll need to tackle the banks first.

A new target has been acquired…