It's 20 years since 'Big Bang' in the City of London, which helped give rise to the overgrowth of our financial services sector. The Observer noted this in a thoughtful leader yesterday. As they noted, amongst the hubris and celebrations the City is saying:

[It] is the jewel in Britain's economic crown, [] creating jobs and fortunes that trickle down to everyone. But, warn the City burghers, government must not be complacent. More deregulation and lower taxes are needed for the engine of wealth to keep running.

The Observer notes:

British surgeons, scientists, actors, software engineers, inventors, TV producers, architects and writers have all being doing as well as, if not better than, the City. Exports of highly skilled services in post-industrial sectors of the economy - the so-called knowledge services - have trebled to £76bn over the last 10 years. Only China boasts export growth on such a scale.

The City is not exceptional in other words. And yet:

both Labour and the Conservatives compete obsessively to be seen as the City's preferred stewards of economic policy.

As the Observer rightly notes, this is wrong. It said:

All businesses like deregulation and lower taxes, but such things are decided in the interests of the country as a whole, not as a favour to one sector, especially one that claims so much but delivers so little for the majority of people living in Britain.

I think that sums it up pretty well.