Graphs at a glance: Cambridge University study shows fewer than 1 in 10 members of the public trust or regard as ethical banks and energy companies

The relationship between British Industry and British Government is the same as that between a dominatrix and her clients. Plenty of shouting and threatening, but no visible marks. 

Ministers appear in the news shooting out their lips, shaking their heads, scolding, threatening terrible consequences and spankings, but making no visible changes.

If you want to see a pair of reddened cheeks you need go no further than certain parliamentary committee rooms:

"I think you do evil" intoned Margaret Hodge, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, who was being strict to the boss of Google, accused of tax dodging.

“I apologise to the Secretary of State and I should apologise to this committee and the taxpayer on behalf of our company. We didn’t have the systems in place that we needed” grovelled the boss of G4S having been caught out overcharging for offender tagging services. 

Margaret Hodge is matched by Andrew Tyrie, the man of the gimlet gaze who chairs the Treasury Committee. Peers of the Realm have been called liars by other peers of the Realm. Lord Lawson, sitting on the committee, chastised Lord Stephenson, former chairman of the wrecked bank HBOS, with the words "Either when you said that you were being dishonest, or else, if you believed it to be correct, you were delusional. I prefer to believe that you were not dishonest, and you were simply delusional."

There are of course many committees that lack the whiplash qualities of Hodge and Tyrie. These often find themselves at the broad end of the paddle in these sessions, out-spanked by highly incentivised executives demonstrating what they are paid for. 

Whether they face polecat or poodle, British Industry knows that the public humiliations they face as a consequence of their rip-offs will hardly leave a scratch on their reputations. 

Why is that? 

The answer is made apparent in a report by Cambridge University and You-Gov. The report is about "Public Trust in Banking", and has many edifying insights on the banking industry. It also includes a graph on British Industry more generally that we reproduce below.

The reason the dodgier parts of UK industry, including banking and the energy sectors, have no fear of their public visits to their dominatrices is they find their reputations are irrelevant to their profits.

According to the graph, only 1 person in 20 (5%) believe the banks have "high ethical and moral standards" or are "trustworthy". Energy companies are slightly better, though even here fewer than 1 in 10 believe they are "good guys".

Top executives bray that to get the top talent they must pay top money. The reality is top money doesn't attract top talent, it attracts people who are attracted by lots of money. People who put profits before reputation. People who are happy to have a flush on their cheeks from a scolding, so long as they remain flush in the pocket.

There is a compact between industry and government that has lasted for decades. The compact between a dominatrix and her client. Industry will send it's bosses for interrogation and humiliation. Government will never do anything that leaves a mark. "You have been a VERY naughty boy!" says the minister, reaching for the vegetables.

And outside the dungeon, life and rip-offs go on unchanged.