Banker staff at Monzo, which previously refused to open an account for Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, branded Conservatives in Britain as “evil” and “ugly” in the latest example of political bias in the industry.
Internal messages uncovered by The Telegraph revealed a deep seeded antipathy towards Conservatives among some staff members at Monzo Bank, which boasts some seven million customers in the UK. The bank has come under criticism amid the Nigel Farage debanking scandal after it was revealed that Conservative MP Jeremy Hunt was turned down for an account before he became the top economic official in the country as Chancellor of the Exchequer.
According to the paper, staff at Monzo had described Conservatives in a Slack forum as “evil” and “ugly”. One member went on to say in January: “I hope I’m wrong though and we manage to topple the Tories for good. I’m not sure anyone can survive under the Tories for much longer”.
Following the election losses for the Conservatives in the local elections in May, one employee wrote: “Tory losses in the local elections – we love to see ittttt”.
Employees at Monzo also said that former Cabinet Minsiter Sir Jacob Rees Mogg “could do the human race a favour” by leaving politics forever and that Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling was “vile”.
In April of last year, a senior manager at the bank criticised the Tories for “evidently swaying towards arguments put forward by Terfs”. The acronym Terf, which stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminist, is a derogatory term used by leftists to describe people — such as Rowling — who are critical of the impact transgender ideology has had on children and on taking away women’s rights.
The latest demonstration of bias within the banking sector comes after Brexit leader Nigel Farage has launched a campaign to take on the big banks and to champion the cause of those unjustly debanked, as he was earlier this year by Coutts. Mr Farage had his accounts at the bank shut down for thought crimes that didn’t “align with our values” according to a dossier produced by Coutts owner NatWest.
Responding to the latest revelations, Mr Farage said that he was not surprised by members of the industry being against Conservatives.
“I think the general public would be astonished but I’m afraid I’m not in the least bit surprised,” he told The Telegraph. “Corporate Britain has suffered a complete takeover.”
“It’s all one way, this is a culture, to reverse this it’s going to be a big battle”.
A spokeswoman for Monzo said: “Our ambition is to make money work for everyone, which means that we’re politically neutral and personal views play no part in our policies or decision making, including eligibility for a Monzo account. Any suggestion otherwise is categorically untrue.
“These cherry-picked comments are personal views of a handful of employees in informal conversations and it is wrong to portray them as the views of Monzo or our thousands of other employees.”
The government is expected to introduce legislation to prevent politically-motivated debanking and to increase transparency and warning periods for account closures, which have skyrocketed to over a thousand per working day. The idea has also been floated that banks may be required to pledge to ensure free speech protections in exchange for their licence to operate in the UK.