In favour of (re)nationalisation

The Minx walked down to Bexley Square to meet me for lunch, today, and, as we came out of Deli Lama* with our lunches, I noticed this hole had been dug in the square. I'm pretty sure it wasn't there before I went into college but my powers of observation are at best intermittent.

Naturally, I wandered across to take a look and, apart from the interesting layering of the walls, all there was to see was this old pipe, presumably being exposed for repair.

The privatisation of the water system in this country is another example of the triumph of ideology over common sense when it comes to putting infrastructure into private hands. (See also gas, telecommunications, rail and so on. And on. And on.)

Quite apart from the fact that we shouldn't be paying for water, anyway, if you put that commodity and the attendant infrastructure into private hands, then suddenly there's a need to make a profit (to satisfy shareholders) and, of course, there's also a consequent restriction on spending.

The most recent example of this behaviour resulted in the massive fine applied to Southern Water but that's an extreme example of the day to day behaviour of the companies running utilities. It's telling - and, of course, massively under reported - that during the year it was back being run as a nationalised rail company - the East Coast line was the only one that turned a profit. The others, including Virgin Trains - under ersatz spaceman, Richard Branson - constantly required subsidy from the tax payer. And still we have (I believe) the highest rail fares in Europe.

Depressingly, under the Tories, we can only expect more of the same.

*Very much would recommend