[jambutty]

You have to ask yourself why the 3 utilities and public transport were privatised in the first place. Badly run and inefficient they may have been plus whatever profits were gained were siphoned off by the government, so there was nothing in the kitty for repairs and re-investment etc. The government’s answer – get the public to pay for a service.

Under public ownership we had the Gas Board, who was responsible for procuring the gas, distributing it and billing for it. One company did it all. We had an Electricity Board and Water Board.

Now we have Centrica to supply the gas and various companies to distribute it. Two companies (two lots of workers wages) plus shareholders instead of one and no shareholders.

It was the same for public transport. A company runs the tracks and stations and various operators pay to use it/them. Then they got subsidised too and it was argued that the subsidy went straight to the shareholders. Guess who paid? Me and you. Well you actually ‘cos I don’t use the railways or buses.

We have several bus companies running a town service that was covered by the local authority and all wanting to make a profit. I understand that there is a government guarantee that they will not run at a loss, meaning that they are subsidised by us the taxpayer.

This privatising concept has even spread to council housing. Some time ago the Blackburn with Darwen council sold off the bulk of their “housing for rent” stock to a newly formed company Twin Valley Homes at a knock down price. As a small aside, guess who became the CEO of TVH? Why none other than Phil Richards who also happened to be the top man with the council in charge of housing. He was also charged with the task of conducting many meetings with the tenants to persuade them that the TVH route was the way to go. During one such meeting I asked him who the CEO of TVH would be. I’ve never seen a person go so red so quick but he didn’t answer my question other than the CEO will be appointed in due course. As an even smaller aside, Phil Richards was and maybe still is a top flight football referee who once refereed the FA Cup Final.

However in spite of my objections to the change Phil Richards and TVH have shown the local authority how to run some 8,000 homes for rent where the refurbishment plan is going ahead at a pace and annual rent increases are being kept down to the absolute minimum – just 1% above inflation I think it is. TVH needs that to pay off the $110 million loan that is being used to pay for all the improvements.

My one bedroom ground floor flat with a garden at the back costs just £59.47 per week. In 10 years my flat will earn TVH £29,735. It is unlikely that any of that money will be spent on my flat because it was recently re-furbished to modern standards that should last at least 10 years. Using my flat as a yardstick for all 8,000 properties, in ten years the rent income would be £237,880,000, which is more than enough to repay the loan and have a lot left over to finance the next 10 years. Now do the maths for the average rent of $70.

Why couldn’t the Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council have done the same? Simple - any revenue generated from rents was used for other things so there was nothing left for repairs etc. so the council borrowed $100 million from the government.

My point is that with the same personnel in place and the utilities in public ownership as none profit making companies, like TVH, the same profits would be made and those profits could be used to keep the prices down and still have something left over for re-investment.

Imagine if the current private utility and public transport companies were non-profit making companies like TVH.