Here we go again indeed, Jayne - the theory of economic liberalism in a nutshell. Minimal government involvement - leave everything to the market. Competition will ensure efficiency, and trickle-down will ensure that the lightly-taxed rich leave some scraps for the poorest in society. I think it was Keynes who observed that if you feed the horse enough oats, some will pass through to the road for the sparrows! The idea that private is always better than public is nonsense. Of the major nationalisations, only those of BA and BT can be called an unqulaified success. Conversely, the privatisation of water has led to the creation of inefficient and exploitative local monopolies, whilst rail privatisation has turned into a shambles. The £5.3 billion raised by the privatisation is dwarfed by the subsidies since paid to the operators. Fare increases have consistently outpaced inflation, and where operators have been unable to turn a profit, they have simply walked away from their franchise contracts. Meanwhile the rolling stock companies have made billions: in 2020, despite the pandemic, the three rolling stock companies were still able to pay out £950 million in dividends - equal to 50% of passenger revenue for the year.
Robert Fish ● 1634d