Your Money or Your Life: Burn the Bonfire, Not the Rules

For every Ian Davis. For every victim who was told regulation was the problem—not the predators it barely tamed.

They said the red tape was holding us back.

But let’s get real. Whose hands were tied—ours or theirs?

Because right now, Trump and Starmer, two men who couldn’t agree on breakfast, are shoulder-to-shoulder when it comes to one thing: lighting a match under financial safeguards and calling it progress.

They call it efficiency. We call it betrayal.

The Illusion of Liberation

Behind the smoke and mirrors of “growth” lies the old, familiar truth: deregulation doesn’t free the people. It frees the predators.

Trump wants to gut watchdogs. Starmer is quietly defunding ours. Consumer protections that took years—decades—to win, are being shredded overnight. They’re not trimming fat. They’re carving into the bone.

And for what?

So another banker can pocket a bonus.
So another loophole can be exploited.
So another victim can be blamed for not reading the fine print.

They say less regulation means more opportunity. But we’ve been down this road before. The 2008 crash wasn’t an accident—it was the end result of a rigged game with no referees.

Have we learned nothing?

The Real Cost of Cutting Corners

Regulators exist for a reason: to protect the powerless from the powerful.

When the FCA’s plan to “name and shame” bad actors was scrapped, who benefitted? Not you. Not the families robbed of pensions, homes, and hope. Not the small firms trying to play fair.

And axing the Payment Systems Regulator? That’s not reform. That’s surrender. It’s putting the fox in charge of the henhouse and calling it “streamlining.”

Mick McAteer nailed it: “civil society has never had less influence.” And that’s not an oversight. It’s the plan.

This is a coup—not by generals, but by lobbyists. And the casualties are trust, truth, and your financial future.

Rise of the Robber Barons 2.0

They’re selling you the same lie, with a different label. They say this will help you. That regulation was slowing you down.

But who’s really accelerating here?

🔹 Hedge funds that want faster approvals.
🔹 Banks that want bigger mergers and fewer questions.
🔹 Politicians that want campaign donations, not public accountability.

This isn’t about you. It never was.

Civil Society: Time to Reignite

We can’t outspend the City. We can’t outshout Trump’s base. But we can outlast them.

Here’s how civil society pushes back—starting NOW:

🔧 Expose the Narrative: Every time they say deregulation equals growth, we tell the truth: deregulation equals risk. Equals inequality. Equals injustice.

📢 Mobilise the Victims: The most powerful voices are those who’ve suffered. Let’s give them the mic. Let’s turn pain into power.

⚖️ Reclaim the Rules: Demand representation on regulatory boards. Demand public interest mandates be restored. Demand a system where society—not shareholders—is the client.

💥 Disrupt the Status Quo: We don’t need permission. Build platforms like the Academy. Offer alternatives. Train people to play their own financial game—because the banks aren’t here to help them.

🌱 Seed the Next Economy: One based on enough, not excess. On sustainability, not speculation. On humans, not just capital.

No More Passive Players

We’ve been told the system is too big to fight. That’s what they want us to believe.

But every movement that ever mattered started small—started angry—started with people who said enough is enough.

The bonfire is burning. But we don’t have to be its fuel.

We can be the firebreak.

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Now is the time to resist the rollback.
Now is the time to rebuild regulation that works—for people, not profit.
Now is the time to unmask the deregulators—and reclaim your future.

Your money and your life.
No more choosing.
No more silence.
No more victims.

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Your Money or Your Life

Unmask the highway robbers – Enjoy wealth in every area of your life!

By Steve Conley. Available on Amazon. Visit www.steve.conley.co.uk to find out more.