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Privatisation
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Gramaisc
Forum O. G.
Some Germans not too happy with it, either - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24763311 - Berliners to vote on whether to de-privatise their grid, after Hamburgers voted to do it to theirs, or what used to be theirs..
tek-monkey
wanna see my snake?
You can't be a real Tory and consider that a question.
Yup.
All privatisation means is that the Guv admit they don't have a clue how to run things and we'd better get someone else in. Effectively they are reducing their own responsibilities to the point where we wonder what they actually do themselves, much like upper management that have outsourced their departments but still retain their jobs.
henryscat
Well-Known Forumite
It has been Crapita for a very long time....
Indeed Henryscat, and the amount of money they are taking out of Birmingham as profit should be a lesson for us all:
http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/bus...oar-council-funded-service-birmingham-6129272
Meanwhile children are dying due to lack of action by Birmingham's Children's Services:
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/birmingham-city-councils-children-services-6189451
That £26 million profit would go a fair way to providing decent Children's services.
ATJ
Well-Known Forumite
Disagree, the Govt have some extremely well run bits and some extremely badly run bits. The badly run bits don't get enough funding, are besieged by cronyism and aren't profitable. It's the well run bits which are privatised, because they make (or could make) profit.
Privatisation has literally nothing to do with improving service, and everything to do with cash for the boys.
Do we have to wait for a generation to realise that privatisation is crap, that companies only want to make money for their shareholders and for themselves, and that there is no such thing as public service in private companies. What is worse is that this government relies on other governments to provide services - China and France for instance to provide a nuclear power station. How crazy is that?
henryscat
Well-Known Forumite
Sadly I think the answer is yes. It won't be until all our public services are completely down the toilet that the penny will drop. Unfortunately people continue to vote for a political and economic system that favours greed over the well being of the nation.
tek-monkey
wanna see my snake?
Such a shame majority shareholders are usually our own pensions, we're screwed either way 
dylanf
Fat Git
Yes,
But the problem from the other side is that the public sector couldn't organize a piss up in a brewery.
So for example, Wolverhampton council recently lost a case in court. They didn't even use a barrister. They used their own in house lawer. They lost rightly, because they were wrong. It cost the company £20k to defend themselves from the council. The company wants to reclaim the costs from the council for defending themselves.
So now the council are using a barrister to put a limit on the claim the company can make. So its going to cost the council 20k, to stop them from paying 20k. Go figure.
Come to think of it, what public services do I actually use, that I would rather pay a private company to do?
But the problem from the other side is that the public sector couldn't organize a piss up in a brewery.
So for example, Wolverhampton council recently lost a case in court. They didn't even use a barrister. They used their own in house lawer. They lost rightly, because they were wrong. It cost the company £20k to defend themselves from the council. The company wants to reclaim the costs from the council for defending themselves.
So now the council are using a barrister to put a limit on the claim the company can make. So its going to cost the council 20k, to stop them from paying 20k. Go figure.
Come to think of it, what public services do I actually use, that I would rather pay a private company to do?
ATJ
Well-Known Forumite
We can all pick and choose examples of bad practice in the public sector. But we can all think of a hell of a lot of feck ups in the private sector too.
What is provided by the public sector? Schools and education, social services and adoption services, cultural services such as free art galleries, preservation of historical artefacts which have been gifted to the nation, public parks, decisions about planning, maintenance of carriageways, footways, culverts, drainage and flooding, investment into new carriageways, footways and bridges. I'm sure there's plenty I've forgotten.
I don't want to see any of these things in private hands and I'd love to see postal services, utilities services (gas, water, electric, telecomms) and public transport back in public hands too. The privatisation of these items has been such an unmitigated disaster I can't understand how anyone who doesn't stand to personally profit from privatisation, could possibly want it.
What is provided by the public sector? Schools and education, social services and adoption services, cultural services such as free art galleries, preservation of historical artefacts which have been gifted to the nation, public parks, decisions about planning, maintenance of carriageways, footways, culverts, drainage and flooding, investment into new carriageways, footways and bridges. I'm sure there's plenty I've forgotten.
I don't want to see any of these things in private hands and I'd love to see postal services, utilities services (gas, water, electric, telecomms) and public transport back in public hands too. The privatisation of these items has been such an unmitigated disaster I can't understand how anyone who doesn't stand to personally profit from privatisation, could possibly want it.
tek-monkey
wanna see my snake?
I'd say any privatised service can only take 10% out of the profit, the rest must be reinvested or bills reduced. The penalty for doing otherwise and getting caught out should be 20% of that years profits (i.e. 2 years worth of income).
EDIT: I'd also enforce a no outsourcing rule to stop funds getting siphoned off.
EDIT: I'd also enforce a no outsourcing rule to stop funds getting siphoned off.
Gramaisc
Forum O. G.
Quite a few people that I know who are generally in favour of privatisation get a bit less evangelical about it if such services as the Police, Army and even the Royal Family are suggested as possibilities for the next wave.
Sometimes 'competition' is cited as a benefit of private supply of goods and services, yet I have little likelihood of getting my water services from anybody other than the Severn Trent monopoly.
It would be nice if people just did their best to provide goods and services, rather than doing as little as they can get away with and being safe in the knowledge that the customer often has little real choice.
Sometimes 'competition' is cited as a benefit of private supply of goods and services, yet I have little likelihood of getting my water services from anybody other than the Severn Trent monopoly.
It would be nice if people just did their best to provide goods and services, rather than doing as little as they can get away with and being safe in the knowledge that the customer often has little real choice.
ATJ
Well-Known Forumite
Private Eye has been saying for some time now that aspects of the armed forces and police forces have been privatised by stealth