Quote:
Originally Posted by OLD BOY
Privatisation was good because it ensured the badly needed investment that was required.
What is so sacred about water in terms of the public/private debate? The water is free - what we are paying for is the means of getting a pure supply of it to our homes and the means of disposing of the waste as sewerage. We were relying on old Victorian pipes with no public money available to replace them. That's why water was privatised.
As for the railways, nobody surely who used the railways while under public sector control would want to go back to that! Pre-war trains, window frames so dirty that if you put your hand on them, you could only remove the grime with soap and water, revolting turned up sandwiches which I wouldn't feed to the birds.... Honestly, who wants that?
In my part of the world, we had a two-carriage train to London, which was not well used. The fact that we now have a modern eight-carriage service with most seats taken speaks volumes for the difference privatisation has made.
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You're right there OB, privatisation has worked wonders on the railways. Cheap fares, reliable services , no overcrowding, decent rolling stock, no strikes
It's worked so well that even this Govt. has had to renationalise the East Coast mainline !