Of course. lol.
The labour Leader thread...
- Thread starter easyrider
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Of course. lol.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
Renationalising the railways is actually trivially easy - as amigafan points you simply don't relet the contract when the franchise expires and instead run it in house (Exactly as was done with East Coast for a number of years). Reorganising it all after that becomes an internal issue that doesn't involve the private firms anyway.
Other industries though are a different kettle of fish entirely - they were actually sold off...
Other industries though are a different kettle of fish entirely - they were actually sold off...
Soldato
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Not that I woud ever vote for Corbyn but I have an idea for nationalising energy generation. I don't know if there is a legal structure to allow it but; form a national monopoly where all the generators are balied in as shareholders with their holding based on the value of the assets bailed in. Sorting out the value would be an issue but can be overcome. As the assets depreciate to closure the shareholding is adjusted to match. All new assets are funded by the Government. So over the years the Government replaces the previous companies as a shareholder. When the existing companies have no assets they have no shareholding. Closing sites would be bought out by the company on closure so the land assets remain with the monopoly. The company could be guaranteed a 10% profit on electrcity generated, as the government built more stations and increased shareholding the income could fund future investments and slowly the plc's are squeezed out. No up front £100bn but ultimately single monopoly eventually nationalised.
The industry would love to be nationalised again, the return of long termn planning and the end for politcal ***aboutery.
The industry would love to be nationalised again, the return of long termn planning and the end for politcal ***aboutery.
Soldato
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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...nalise-the-big-six-energy-firms-10444849.html
Sounds like a similar approach.
Soldato
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[TW]Fox;28436559 said:
Hands up who remember how unreliable, overmanned and inefficient British Rail was?
Oh, just me then...
It was truly awful, going back to those days would be a disaster.
Soldato
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Agreed. Anyone who lived through the 60s and 70s when the Unions had the governments of that era by the knackers should have no wish to see such days return.
Because it was starved of investment that eventually began in the late 80s just in time for the private firms to benefit from the fresh new trains at privatisation
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[TW]Fox;28436695 said:Because it was starved of investment that eventually began in the late 80s just in time for the private firms to benefit from the fresh new trains at privatisation
And then use that as an excuse to overcharge?
Soldato
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[TW]Fox;28436695 said:Because it was starved of investment that eventually began in the late 80s just in time for the private firms to benefit from the fresh new trains at privatisation
And exactly where would the Labour Party find the money to fix that? QE or selling off more of the gold reserve at a loss like McMental did?
I remember it well and it was terrible. I would never have considered working in London back then, or even doing a local daily commute on a regular basis. You would simply never be in work on time. Even travelling a few stops was not a sustainable method of transport for me (Network South East, Waterloo lines).
I also see how still the remaining nationalised part of the rail system generally delays me now at least once a week, and last Friday there were no trains at all from Paddington thanks to National Rail when I had two young kids I had taken to London for the day. I commute on a daily basis on the most complained about line (First Great Western) and it is still about a million times better than the 80s/90s BR travel I endured.
Not really the same situation though, is it?
Corbyn has a shot at winning because scores of people have taken advantage of Labour's new associate membership (£3) just so they can vote for Corbyn. Given the fuss the other three candidates are making over this, you can be sure the numbers are significant.
The situation is different but the attitudes are the same, it just may take longer for the disappointment to surface if they are once again wrong and it doesn't lead to a left wing revival.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/08/04/corbyn-and-the-cringe-caucus/
A view from the Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman, refreshing change from the propaganda driven drivel in UK mainstream media.
A view from the Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman, refreshing change from the propaganda driven drivel in UK mainstream media.
What?
It was 'fixed' (well not fixed, but it changed) in the late 80's with significant investment in new trains and total route upgrades. When the Railways Act was passed in 1993, British Rail had just taken delivery of the largest fleet modernisation since the 1960's and the fully upgraded and electrified East Coast Main Line had been completed just 2 years earlier.
Rail subsidy has been increasing ever since - today the franchised network receives more taxpayer subsidy than BR ever did in the 1980's.
Therefore even with zero funding increase over what is spent now, a nationalised railway would have significantly more investment than it did back in 1980.
Therefore assuming a nationalised network today would be as bad as it was in 1980 is, IMHO, not correct.
No, the utilities are privately owned. You have to buy them.
Yes the political ***aboutery will end, just as it has with the NHS.