The Cost Of Privatisation.

As ususal this winter the energy companies have joined together to put the price of gas and electricity up this winter in order to steal yet more money from us. They are citing the usual suspects - wholesale energy price rises, which never deliver a cheaper supply when they go down and investment, which seems to consist almost entirely of energy executives stuffing huge wads of cash into their own pockets. Meanwhile new figures show quite clearly that the privatised railways are also stuffing public cash into their pockets as subsidies to them far outstrip anything that was paid to the nationsalised network. Indeed the only state-run railway still in existence, the east coast line, is operating with a fraction of the subsidy paid to most private train companies. Privatisation, instead of giving us lower prices by being more efficient, has simply diverted public money into private hands for no good reason. The promised "efficiencies" and lower prices have never materialised and, instead, the public has had to watch as our money is simply stolen by executives and shareholders. Yet, despite this, the Tories are eager to expand privatisation into areas that Margaret Thatcher only dreamed of - the NHS, schools, the police and the benefit system. Their reasons for doing so are quite clear. They have noted the billions of pounds that are involved in these public services and are scheming to stuff those billions into their pockets and those of their rich pals. Essentially they are stealing the state for their own private advantage in an outrageous act of daylight robbery that is nothing short of treasonous.

Neoliberalism Comes Of The Rails.

The idea of neoliberal economics seems to have run its course in Britain as the system it created is submerged under a tide of scandal and criminality. People are getting really, really tired of being pissed on and being then told its raining. The catalyst for the change in thinking that has taken place was the sheer criminal greed displayed by the banks who shouted loudly for deregulation and then indulged themselves in a law-breaking and common-sense-defying gambling spree that wrecked the world economy. The present scandal over the Libor is simply the tip of a very dirty iceberg and demonstrates quite clearly what the "News in Shorts" has been saying for some time - these people are criminals and should be thrown into prison where they belong. Despite the mounting evidence, however, the present government has tried to forcefeed the country with ever more unpalatable and ultimately self-defeating neoliberal nostrums. Fortunaterly there are growing signs that the tide is beginning to turn at last. After decades in which the Labour party seemed as much in thrall to the likes of Margaret Thatcher as the Tories themselves, socialist principles such as fairness and regulation are making a comeback. In London the council in Islington has refused to take advantage of Eric Pickles offer to allow them to hike council-house rents up to the astronomical levels charged by greedy private landlords and deny tenants any security of tenure. More telling still is that the Labour party is actively considering a renationalism of the railways, removing the private companies, who have plundered the transport system in their quest for ever-growing profits, once more from the equation. Only two years ago, under the shadow of Thatcher and the neoliberal economic nonsense, that would have been unthinkable. Hopefully it will only be a matter of time before the same sea-change happens with regard to the utilities - water, gas and electricity. Meanwhile the Tory party is descending into complete chaos as right-wingers continue to feed Cameron with soundbite policies that both terrify and disgust the electorate and George Osborne completes his latest u-turn, while the Chancellor now has a new nickname amongst Tory backbenchers - "Bastard."