British Broadband

Nice one Labour.

Really well thought out.

Free broadband for all but you have to pay for water.

Makes sense.

 

Sure BT shareholders are delighted with this bombshell intervention.

 

Not to mention all the alternative broadband providers.
Corbyn's Labour seem to be massively hung up on telling us what a wonderful caring state they want to create. Which is a wonderful goal, I would love to live in a country where the common good is actually put first.
However what they seem to be missing is, they actually need to win a election to do anything. Lose Corbyn, keep policies moderate and sensible and they would smash this Tory government in a election.

 

To be fair should a prospective government be making decisions on whether something is good for the country or for a group of individual shareholders?

 

BT Boss has been interviewed and he said:

Labour said would cost £20 Billion
BT saying closer to 40
Also saying if you factor in lost revenue from becoming a free service closer to £100.
Also saying if BT are compulsory actioned they would take legal action to ensure any other provider is affected (have to provide free too).

IF any of that is true can’t see it happening.

 

I agree. I'll be interested to see what makes the final manifesto cut, but many of the loose announcements I'm hearing around business are losing votes, not winning them.

Just on broadband though.. seeing the disgusting power this govt has and how they wish to circumvent scrutiny, plus the issues of security that are being implied about Huawei.... why would it be good thing to create a state broadband where all our communications flow through? We have a woeful history of making a success of state run public sector projects in this country, why I've never quite fathomed given how other countries seem to have far better infrastructure than we do.

And you're so right about competitors. Whats that going to do to jobs? Shareholders? Pensions? Building utilisation.

It feels like a desperate, fairly cynical headline grabbing policy to me. Not thought through, potentially damaging and unlikely to work.

 

It shouldn't be dropping bombshells like this after McDonnell has supposedly spoken with BT executives to state they weren't in their plans for any privatisation. And shareholders are institutions, that invest for pension pots. So if your pension pot diminishes, or that money gets invested overseas instead of in the UK, you'll find that it impacts more than a handful of individual investors.

 

Not debating the detail of this particular policy, although even the headlines said... may need part privatisation of part of BT... but if we've reached a point where we have to consider the impact on investors, whoever they may be, over what is good for the wider population then the economic model as it exists now doesn't work.

Its also hard to trust business predictions when the CBI have had to (quietly) apologise for inflating predictions of the impact of Labour's proposed policies.

 

An

and having to pay through the nose for gas and leccy

 

I've sympathy for anyone trying to predict the compound impacts of rushed ill considered populist anti business measures, with a form of Brexit interlaced.

Frankly, its not going to matter as Corbyn crashes Labour harder on the rocks. But what I do take exception to is another politician telling lies, and, harming markets for the sake of populism. That can impact anyone at any time, and in many hidden ways. And that's certainly not good for the country.

 

Share prices have already started dropping.

Talktalk was being brought out but those talks have since the announcement stalled.

Later, theyll be pointing at a mobile phone company and shouting Iphones for all...

 

But BT was the nationalised industry and has responsibly for landlines. Should never gave been privatised in the first place without competitors having to put in their own infrastructure. Just like the railways.

 

There was certainly no broadband in the early 1980s

 

All nationalisation is cost neutral. Look at the work of Portes on nationalisation and most other economists tbf.

 

No but they use the telephone sockets that BT provide.

 

McDonnell has also stated that productivity gains flowing from free access to full fibre would add £59Bn to GDP. I have no idea whether his figures hold water but even if he was only half right the free BB would pay for itself!

 

They were never free though

 

He also stated in July that privatising the Water sector was the "limit of our ambitions."

So forgive me for not believing a word he says.

 

Nor are the sockets the same, nor whats behind them. Haven't virgin been developing some additional networks alongside openreach networks? So essentially they would be obsolete? Or would they also be grabbed to be part of McCluskeyNet?

 

Can't say I blame you, DWLC. I think in terms of trust, politicians are below estate agents and football club owners right now!