Banker bonuses set to soar as Kwasi Kwarteng eyes a bonfire of City red tape – that could see more cash for social care
BANKER bonuses are set to skyrocket under Kwasi Kwarteng's radical plan to make Britain the world's financial powerhouse after Brexit.
The new Chancellor is preparing to shred masses of EU red tape strangling City firms - but could ask them to invest in social care in return.
He is set to unveil his "Big Bang 2.0" deregulation blitz at next Friday's mini-Budget and in a speech to bosses.
As part of the red tape bonfire he is expected to allow fat cats to trouser millions by scrapping the cap on bonuses they can receive on top of their salaries.
He is also set to ditch Brussels' Solvency II rules that limit insurance firms' investments in exchange for them pouring money into the cash-starved social care system.
Mr Kwarteng is eyeing a trade-off whereby companies plug the £13billion black hole in the creaking care budget after Liz Truss reverses the National Insurance rise.
Read More on The Sun
But a huge row exploded last night as critics accused the Chancellor of helping bankers line their pockets while ordinary Brits struggle to pay the bills.
Trade Union Congress boss Frances O'Grady demanded he prioritised the millions "struggling to keep their heads above water".
She blasted: "Working people are being walloped by soaring prices after the longest and harshest wage squeeze in modern history.
"The Chancellor's number one priority should be getting wages rising for everyone - not boosting bumper bonuses for those at the top."
Most read in The Sun
Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge said it is "obscene" to be thinking about banker bonuses in the raging cost of living crisis.
Former Bank of England economist Andrew Sentance said axing the cap sent "a rather confused signal" to squeezed families.
EU rules introduced in the wake of the 2008 financial crash limit City bonuses to twice a banker's base salary.
Allies insisted Mr Kwarteng's master-plan would turbocharge growth by luring firms to London rather than rivals New York, Frankfurt and Paris.
They also said bonuses were taxable and so more cash would be generated for the Treasury to spend on vulnerable Brits.
Welcoming the move, David Buik of Aquis Exchange said: "I understand the incandescence of rage - it looks awful. But the fact remains that we have to get some growth from somewhere.
"We've lost ground to the European Union, we've lost ground to the United States... we can get that back."
Mr Kwarteng is also expected to announce low regulation "Investment Zones" and "full-fat freeports" to drive businesses to certain towns and cities.