French power, Hong Kong water...

Who owns us?

Anyone deluded enough to think that the Thatcher sell-off was a good thing needs to think again.

When Enron collapsed under the weight of its own nefarious activities and black accounting, the US energy giant owned Wessex Water, providing potable supplies and taking away the waste from Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire. How and why, exactly, did that happen?

There's proud Brits with photos of Maggie on their walls and union jack boxers in their wardrobes blissfully unaware of the true legacy.

EDF have renationalised much of our power industry, including the major nuclear reactors. Just on behalf of the French. That can't sit easy with Clarkson and his fellow French-hating Maggie lovers.

Another water company, Northumbrian, is owned by Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings. Based in Hong Kong. They also entirely own, lock, stock and insulation, the London Underground power cables. Another oddity of Reaganomics, the obfuscation, the accounting and responsibility ducking and diving of splitting up the companies. The privatised companies run the trains and stations, Railtrack the infrastructure system, but maintenance is by...by...old woss 'is name? You know. Jack's uncle's mate from the Kings Arms, tall bloke, bit scruffy, also services the planes. Well some of 'em...

The Post Office was sold off in haste, too cheaply, to the politician's buddies. Claims by Vince Cable and others that the pricing of the shares needs to be looked at after a year was absolute rubbish, but succeeded in baffling with bullshit, and buying time for the furore to die down. You'd be an idiot to sell your car for less than its worth, then say “let's see what it would fetch a year from now, with the extra miles on the clock”.

The NHS has been, is being, and will be privatised by the back door, by stealth, and by men and women in expensive suits who don't depend on it.

Foreign companies own the railways.

Brain damaged thinking

One of the reasons for my confused state:

The tories claim to be the party of capitalism and business.

They believe in privatising things.

If you had a business (say a General Post Office) and that business had a telecoms section (thriving, making big bucks) and a letter and parcel delivery service (not doing so well at all, really), which arm would you sell off and which would you keep hold of? Business-wise?

Nope.

Kept the Post Office (loss-making). Sold BT (profit-making).

Still, they're the party for business and the economy's safer in their hands and everything, right?

Right?