Bim Afolami, who was promoted in a ministerial reshuffle this month, said on Tuesday that regulators
“need to realise that if you’re regulating a market, in any area, there’s no point having the safest graveyard. Animal spirits need to be there, we need to innovate, we need to drive growth and initiative,”
This is the earliest recorded use of “the safest graveyard” on this blog and a very welcome addition to my dictionary of phrase and fable.
Who is this Bim? I looked him up. His family originates in Nigeria – his Dad’s a doctor and he went to England. He got a blue playing football for Oxford University and he is a serious 400 m runner.
He qualified as a lawyer at Freshfields and worked as a banker, so he’s no stranger to regulation. His parliamentary record has really focussed on financial regulation.
Well I’m with him and his sentiments. But most of all with a Minister in the Treasury who speaks a language I can understand and enjoy!
