‘U-turn’: LV member John Higgins
Outraged LV member John Higgins has called for a vote of no confidence in the mutual insurer’s boss, Mark Hartigan.
Hartigan led a botched attempt to sell the 179-year-old business to US private equity firm Bain. Then, last week, he scooped up a pay packet of more than £1million.
The sale collapsed in December, but Hartigan continues to lead the organisation and is paid a hefty reward package. Now, Higgins, with LV for 50 years, has urged fellow members to support a no confidence vote in Hartigan at the annual meeting.
The resolution needs to be backed by at least 100 members to be tabled. Higgins, 85, said: ‘I would be looking for members to vote for no confidence in Mark Hartigan. None of us can think of any reason why he should lead a mutual when he has no experience of leading one.
‘He came in with the brief of carrying out a review, and with the guidance of – or in collusion with – the chairman [at the time] Alan Cook, he persuaded the board that the only way to secure LV’s future was to sell to Bain at a pittance, giving members just £100 each.
‘But Hartigan and the others on the board would have had lucrative jobs – all had a vested interest in the sale. When it failed, they did a screeching U-turn, changing from saying LV had no future without the sale, to LV is a wonderful mutual with a bright future. I feel Hartigan is interested only in lining his pockets. He has treated members with contempt and has used them as a cash cow to support his ambition.’
Labour MP Gareth Thomas, who chairs the Parliamentary group for mutuals, said: ‘I support the vote of no confidence and I urge members to support the campaign. Hartigan has shown with his failed bid that he is not fit for purpose.’
Seamus Creedon, interim chair of LV, said: ‘I have high confidence in him and his team.’
To support the no confidence vote, LV members only can fill out the coupon, or email lv@ dailymail.co.uk with your details and write: ‘I support a vote of no confidence in Mark Hartigan’.
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