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Friday, January 18, 2008

Let's return to 'The Bad Old Days'

As public support for renationalising our rip-off railway companies and privatised utilities grows by the day, so too does the negative propaganda about public ownership.
One of the worst examples of this occured on ITV's News at Ten on Wednesday night. The government, we were told by the reporter in question, was not too keen on nationalising Northern Rock because it would be like returning to the 'bad old days'. (There was another anti-nationalisation jibe on the BBC News, recorded by Media Lens).
Well, if the 'bad old days' refers to a time when you could just turn up at the railway station and travel anywhere you liked on a whim because the prices didn't cost and arm and a leg and when utility bills weren't a major factor in the household budget, then let's be having them.
And if like me, you really would like to bring back the 'bad old days', then here's the organisation for you.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

When the word 'nationalisation' is mentioned to the "experts" on the BBC or ITV they react as though they have been in contact with smallpox. These people really have no knowledge of the joy and benefits nationalisation brought the people after the war. Nationalisation was not a "gift" from above it was fought for by millions of people and paid for with their money. The nationalised industries were allowed to drift into decay quite deliberately so they could be sold off cheaply to big business. The results of this robbery we see today when British gas have raised their prices by extortionate amounts. Nationalise the lot I say.

Anonymous said...

If Northern Rock could be bailed out to the tune of billions, why wasn't Rover? Why can't the government step in to prop other ailing businesses? Simply because it would create something of a precedent, Brown is refusing to do it.

As the old Militant demand went, nationalise the top 100 companies!

David Lindsay said...

What about the workers? See my blog.