The mess is mostly a Tory one though. Labour are utterly clueless of how to sort it out of course, but they didn't get us here. British Rail for all its faults was actually very well run by real railwaymen on a relative shoestring, properly vertically integrated and flexible. The current shambles is the worst of all worlds, alledgedly privatised but with far more Whitehall interference than BR ever had to deal with. Right down to the number of drivers and guards a TOC can employ for example.
No way back without huge cost and upheaval. Same with power generation, gas & water privatisation, an utter disaster for the country trying to rely on market forces where no properly competitive market can exist, in natural monopolies. Give me an inefficient state run enterprise in those areas any day of the week, it's way cheaper than having private 'enterprise' gaming the system and runnings rings around ill-equipped public regulators. Don't get me started on the water industry, I see it every day and it'd make your hair curl. A collapse is coming....
The mess is mostly a Tory one though. Labour are utterly clueless of how to sort it out of course, but they didn't get us here. British Rail for all its faults was actually very well run by real railwaymen on a relative shoestring, properly vertically integrated and flexible. The current shambles is the worst of all worlds, alledgedly privatised but with far more Whitehall interference than BR ever had to deal with. Right down to the number of drivers and guards a TOC can employ for example.
No way back without huge cost and upheaval. Same with power generation, gas & water privatisation, an utter disaster for the country trying to rely on market forces where no properly competitive market can exist, in natural monopolies. Give me an inefficient state run enterprise in those areas any day of the week, it's way cheaper than having private 'enterprise' gaming the system and runnings rings around ill-equipped public regulators. Don't get me started on the water industry, I see it every day and it'd make your hair curl. A collapse is coming....
Excellent analysis Peter.
Always admire your writing Peter. This is enlightening yet a frightening reflection of Labour incompetence.