The Cooperative Bank ‘restructure’ is so complex that today’s piece in the Telegraph left me baffled. However, it is now fairly clear that – for the time being at least – the distressed gentlefolk inside this bathyscaphe of bollocks seem to be reasonably secure. But of course, with Hedge Funds involved in the effective takeover of what was once a proud and properly functioning example of social banking, you can never be sure.

No doubt many Westminster rib cages are exhaling a sigh of relief. To me they are and always will be an utter disgrace to our nation in the way they have minced around this nettle patch and refused to be stung.

But there are one or two glimmers on the horizon. His Lordship Maurice Saatchi (to whom I once briefly had a reporting line) has written a quite remarkable piece in the Mail on Sunday. When Saatchi writes this kind of stuff, you sure as Hell know that something is wrong with the current model of capitalism:

‘The unintended consequence of globalisation is the creation of global cartels in which there is a huge imbalance of power between the individual customer and the giant corporation; a sense of powerlessness and unfairness that results from a world of global corporations whose governance (and maybe tax payments) are beyond the reach of national governments…..For Conservatism, there is only one answer – to remind people of the connection between money and the most heartfelt Conservative value of all – freedom. As Professor J. K. Galbraith understood: ‘The greatest restriction on the liberty of the citizen is a complete absence of money.’….The Labour leader says the tide has lifted only the yachts, but Conservatives know that whatever kind of boat you have, the most important thing is that an individual can say: ‘I am the captain of my ship.’ ‘

Bear in mind that this guy was once a disciple of Ted Levitt, and is now the Chairman of the institution (Centre for Policy Studies) that effectively turned Thatcherism into a religion. I welcome this input from Saatchi: it is an appeal for decency we should all applaud.

And as if to make Maurice’s point, Swiss asset manager Raoul Weil has been arrested while holidaying in Italy on charges he helped American clients with $20bn of assets to evade US taxes during his previous job at UBS. Weil was transferred to Bologna’s prison where the next step will be for the US authorities to request his extradition.

So it’s good to know that our legislators are getting the message: the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) earlier this year said that MPs should in future stop claiming for things like evening meals, taxis home before 11pm and television installation at residential properties. But today, MPs on the standards committee published a report that IPSA has not yet made “a strong enough case for ending many of the expenses claims.”

Oh dear. I fear it might be time to double the guillotine order.

Throughout the West (but especially in the UK) a sense of entitlement runs through our culture like a DNA code. I’m a minority, I deserve special treatment. I’m a banker, I deserve nondom status. I used to be Prime Minister, I deserve to make a fortune. I’m a media owner, I deserve to invade privacy and bribe the authorities. I’m a civil servant mandarin, I deserve an index-linked pension. I’m a trade unionist, I deserve to earn as much as the next man…and much more than the next woman. I’m a spook, I deserve to be above the law.  I’m a legislator, I reserve the right to take the piss at the taxpayer’s expense.

I’m more important than you are.

Our country is crying out for some form of movement that will tell people, in a straightforward manner, “We believe that every last citizen is equally important, and every self-important prat should face equality before the Law. We think that every privilege must be earned, and never abused. We know that some humans demand the right to power without facing election….but we think they should be made unwelcome. We believe that civic education designed to bring out the best in people will produce an informed, self-reliant electorate. We are dedicated to the reinstitution of public accountability, and a period of compulsory social service in every life, without exception. If you are small and vulnerable, creative and entrepreneurial, or have a sense of calling for genuine public service, we are on your side. If you are big, bullying, self-serving or exploitative, we will interrogate, investigate and if necessary banish you from our culture.”

A Party wishing sincerely to own that ground should be the Official Opposition to the brigands, wide-boys, spivs and misanthropes currently calling the shots in what used to be Great Britain. It is not the Labour Party. Once again, I stress that this is something perhaps more deserving of our attention than any other single concern.