British Rail was starved of funding. Purposely, to fatten it up for privatisation. It's not surprising that ridership went up following the sell-off - that was intended. You'd be talking billions for the others if you wanted to buy the companies, but I don't think that's Labour's plan (and I'm happy to be corrected). Non profit government-backed organisations will easily out-compete private companies in a fair marketplace. One of the few benefits of leaving the EU is that this would probably be slightly easier to achieve.
I’d keep private schools. I’d make make attendance based on ability. If you’re the brightest of the bright - you can chose to attend. If you’re not, money won’t get you in and you have to attend Grange Hill comp. No debate. The raising of standards would be at primary level to try to equalise the prospects of getting into the best schools. None of this ideal of course but I just don’t see the point of another 100 year debate about “equalising schools’. Laudable in theory but a failure in practice. The point is, on Education, I just don’t think you should be able to buy it.
I don’t know. I honestly think there’s more urgent things that need addressing before taking electric and water back in-house. It would cost billions - shareholders have to be settled correctly. True though - out of the EU makes states ownership of companies a lot easier.
But my point is that you don't need to buy a company. The beauty of liberalisation is that the state could set up a water or electricity distributor and simply sell the product at no profit. All of the big power companies buy their energy from the same people, so you would necessarily have an advantage. The shareholders would simply have been out-competed in a fair marketplace.
Don't think the teaching is necessarily better - just a better standard of children in terms of support and attitude to learning.
Water is difficult as infrastructure and supply is owned by same companies. Electricity is doable and I guess already is - Barnsley Council have set up their own too.
Not even sure facilities are better either- I work in a private school half a day a week and the computing facilities are shocking.
You can provide that support by providing a loving , stable environment where they feel supported - emotional support is just as important
I think they might have split water now, at least commercially - I know that the traditional regional supplier doesn't deal with my business. To be honest, water privatisation was always the worst - at least with the trains they pretended that you had a choice. Generations of taxpayers - municipal rather than national -had money taken from them to pay for the installation of safe water supplies. The people bought it, and should always own it. Letting a private company make money from infrastructure that they never installed is ridiculous.
Bit rich though.... a bunch of private school educated people say private school shouldn’t happen.. The only thing they’ll achieve by this is a sound bite that implies they’re hammering the rich. However, rich kids will still get better education. Whether it’s private tutors, or after school education. The real ones who will suffer are the people who can just afford it, trying to scrape their child into the better start of private school. State schools are generally good, and a bright, motivated child will succeed. But the class sizes are much bigger, the pupil to teacher ratio is a massive driver for success.
Hypocrisy anyone? J Corbyn: Castle House. PRIVATE J McDonell: St Joseph's. PRIVATE J Lansman: Highgate School. PRIVATE A Adonis: Kingham Hill School. PRIVATE H Harman: St Paul's Girls' School. PRIVATE B Gardiner: Haileybury & Imperial. PRIVATE J Healey: St Peter's School, York. PRIVATE You can probably add Abbott and Chackerabati to this list.