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Is privatisation all it's cracked up to be?
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Not really. There's subsidisation of rail companies but not many others.
I take the point but I really think that this comes from a lack of realising just how truly awful these Nationalised companies were. It's hard to describe how mendaciously dreadful they were.
Want to pay your bill in person? Fine, turn up at your lunch time at the local office. Of course everyone in the local office wants to take lunch at lunch time so they do and balls to you. During the morning and afternoon the counters are all fully staffed of course with people staring at the wall.
There are so many examples about how unbelievably bad Nationalised firms were. Really. Try living in France for a year and then tell me you want more Government.
I worked for BT before and after nationalisation and many of the improvements took place before nationalisation. If you think privatisation has been the great saviour of telecoms in the UK perhaps you should read the telecoms board.0 -
A massive benefit of privatisation is the loosening of the stranglehold of the public sector unions. Most of the heavily unionised public sector operations are run for the benefit of the staff, not the consumer/taxpayer. Privatisation is the only way to break the stranglehold.
Our bin collections are done by a private company and we now get a far superior service that's no longer discretionary on the whim of some upstart shop steward who'd call strikes and work to rules for the smallest of reason.
As for public services generally, they're not run for the general public. It's as if the attitude is that the general public can use them if they jump through the hoops. Take GP surgeries - effectively inaccessible to full time workers due to their closures at lunch time, no evening openings, no Saturday openings.
Same with our local library that's forever threatened with closure, the reason always being that not enough people use it. No sh$$ sherlock - it's only open 3 days per week, 10-12 and 2-4. So, basically, it's OK if you're unemployed or an OAP, but completely inaccessible for the workers. Shame that it's in the centre of a village where there are few unemployed and OAP really then isn't it!
You couldn't make it up. A private business that wants customers would never be run like that!0 -
That's why there would be no public libraries as they wouldn't be profitable.A massive benefit of privatisation is the loosening of the stranglehold of the public sector unions. Most of the heavily unionised public sector operations are run for the benefit of the staff, not the consumer/taxpayer. Privatisation is the only way to break the stranglehold.
Our bin collections are done by a private company and we now get a far superior service that's no longer discretionary on the whim of some upstart shop steward who'd call strikes and work to rules for the smallest of reason.
As for public services generally, they're not run for the general public. It's as if the attitude is that the general public can use them if they jump through the hoops. Take GP surgeries - effectively inaccessible to full time workers due to their closures at lunch time, no evening openings, no Saturday openings.
Same with our local library that's forever threatened with closure, the reason always being that not enough people use it. No sh$$ sherlock - it's only open 3 days per week, 10-12 and 2-4. So, basically, it's OK if you're unemployed or an OAP, but completely inaccessible for the workers. Shame that it's in the centre of a village where there are few unemployed and OAP really then isn't it!
You couldn't make it up. A private business that wants customers would never be run like that!0 -
I worked for BT before and after nationalisation and many of the improvements took place before nationalisation. If you think privatisation has been the great saviour of telecoms in the UK perhaps you should read the telecoms board.
it would be interesting to compare that with a similar board pre-privatisation0 -
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Probably still be lots of complaints still just different things I'm not saying it was a good company before privatisation just privatisation wasn't the great saviour it is claimed.
all things considered, would you prefer there was only one telecoms company in the UK (landline and mobile) or more than one?0 -
Why don't you do some research for a change and find out?
Worth pointing out that government could just stop or reduce passenger subsidies. Nationalisation is like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut and, of course, wouldn't mean an end to passenger subsidies in itself.
Whilst with rail fares, the UK is extremely expensive, it's also important to remember that gas/elec is cheaper than on the mainland.
Rail has no real competition on many routes, this is my main gripe.💙💛 💔0 -
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As for public services generally, they're not run for the general public. It's as if the attitude is that the general public can use them if they jump through the hoops. Take GP surgeries - effectively inaccessible to full time workers due to their closures at lunch time, no evening openings, no Saturday openings.
Most GPs are self employed/ small businesses who provide services to the NHS thoughSame with our local library that's forever threatened with closure, the reason always being that not enough people use it. No sh$$ sherlock - it's only open 3 days per week, 10-12 and 2-4. So, basically, it's OK if you're unemployed or an OAP, but completely inaccessible for the workers. Shame that it's in the centre of a village where there are few unemployed and OAP really then isn't it!
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Does it only open 3 days/week because nobody came when it was open more often or does nobody come because its only open 3/days week0 -
I deal with Land registry now and then, Seem very efficient.Even where privatised companies have been less than brilliant, the Nationalised equivalent was dreadful.
British Rail was a national joke, British Gas was a byword for bad service, electric companies were slow and inefficient.0
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