Tag Archives: privatisation

The Royal Mail is a good reason to change the borrowing rules

By Guest | Published: May 17, 2013

Why do we insist that there is no difference between a profitable business that pays its own way, like the postal service, and one that depends mainly on taxation to fund it, like a school or a hospital?

Posted in Public Services for All | Also tagged , , , | 1 Response

The logic behind privatised roads is deeply misguided, as we are slowly finding out

By Guest | Published: May 16, 2013

Handing over management of major infrastructure to the private sector means decisions over its use are no longer made in the national interest but in the interests of shareholders, which can be very different.

Posted in Good Society | Also tagged , , , , , | 5 Responses

Right-wing think tank admits stamp price rise and Post Office closures after Royal Mail privatisation

By James Bloodworth | Published: May 14, 2013

Right-wing think tank Bow Group has admitted that the privatisation of the Royal Mail would see the price of stamps rise and leave a “poisonous legacy” for the Tory party.

Posted in Public Services for All | Also tagged , | 2 Responses

The privatisation of Royal Mail will mean scrapped services and inflated prices

By Mario Dunn | Published: May 1, 2013

Now the government has announced its intention to privatise Royal Mail, we must face up to the prospect of what the postal service might look like in a few years’ time. If the energy or rail privatisations are anything to go by those prospects are not good.

Posted in Good Society | Also tagged , | 1 Response

Royal Mail wants to combine the best of the private and public sectors

By Guest | Published: April 12, 2013

Earlier this week Mario Dunn of Save Our Royal Mail wrote a post claiming that privatisation of the postal service could see the price of a stamp rise to £1. In the interests of debate we’ve allowed Royal Mail to reply. Candice Macdonald works for the Royal Mail Group Royal Mail makes commerce happen by [...]

Posted in Public Services for All | Also tagged | 12 Responses

Royal Mail is part of the fabric of the nation – we don’t want to see it ripped apart

By Guest | Published: April 9, 2013

It is highly likely that the government will begin the privatisation of Royal Mail later this year.

Along with a sell off comes the real threat of stamp prices hitting £1. Price regulation on most stamps was scrapped to boost its attractiveness to investors. It is also quite possible that Royal Mail’s VAT exemption will become unlawful. Add VAT to just one price increase similar to the last one and the first class stamp would hit 94p.

Posted in Public Services for All | Also tagged | 23 Responses

Why we need a political campaign to reinstate the NHS

By Guest | Published: March 25, 2013

By removing the mandate on government to provide a health service, the Health and Social Care Act 2012 is the crowning achievement of the architects of this long recessional from universality. Our response must be political too.

Posted in Public Services for All | Also tagged , | 13 Responses

Taking apart the flimsy case for private prisons

By Guest | Published: February 22, 2013

The right-wing Think Tank Reform published a report yesterday claiming that private firms are better at running prisons. There are fundamental problems with Reform’s analysis, however.

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Comment: why is outsourcing wrong?

By Ben Mackay | Published: January 9, 2013

With the memory of the G4S debacle at the beginning of the summer still sore, today’s news that the government plans to outsource huge swathes of the probation service will be met by cynicism and concern. British government use of the private sector to run services has had a difficult history. However, the justice secretary [...]

Posted in Left Foot Forward, Public Services for All | Also tagged , , | 9 Responses

Campaigners step up fight to save lives and Save Lewisham Hospital

By Jos Bell | Published: December 17, 2012

Jos Bell writes on the progress of the Save Lewisham Hospital campaign and the continued ignorance of Messrs Hunt and Kershaw.

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