From The Independent:
The Treasury is considering privatising other state assets in what critics have called a recession "fire sale". These include:
*Ordnance Survey
*The Met Office
*The Forestry Commission
*The Queen Elizabeth II conference centre in Westminster
*The Covent Garden Market Authority
*The Royal Mint
*The Tote
*Buildings owned by British Waterways
*British Nuclear Fuel's stake in uranium enrichment company Urenco
*The Oil & Pipeline Agency, which manages the UK's underground network of fuel distribution pipelines.
Yes, that really does say "The Royal Mint". Just when banknote-issuing HBOS and RBS have been nationalised.
And then there is the Post Office.
Shocking.
ReplyDeleteBeyond the fact that it's the worst time to be selling, many of these assets are of importance on national security grounds.
It's also the worst time to be offering privatisation as a solution to anything. With the demutualised banks having gone bust or been bought out but foreign companies and extortionate bills from the privatised utilities, you'd think that New Labour would take a hint.