The BNP wishes to “renationalise monopoly utilities, compensating only individual investors and pension funds.” (source: BNP Mini Manifesto 2007)
As part of its nationalist ideology, the BNP believes that privatisation should be reversed, and that we should return to a 1950s economy where industries such as water, electricity, gas and transport were all run by the government.
Privatisation remains controversial with the public, so it is not hard to see why the BNP has jumped on another populist bandwagon, but this policy would represent a serious backwards step for Britain:
- Privatisation has cut prices. Empirical evidence shows that on the whole privatization increases profitability and efficiency. What that’s meant is lower bills for the British public, in particular in telecoms, electricity and gas. The BNP’s policy would put all that at risk, making it more expensive to take a shower or keep your house warm.
- Privatisation has increased choice and customer service. Some privatisations (the railways, for example) have been less successful than others, but does anyone really want to go back to just the one telephone company or tv channel? Privatisation gives British families the chance to walk away when companies are doing their part, forcing them in turn to try and keep their customers happy. No longer do you have to wait three months for a phone line to get installed.
- Privatisation has corrected decades of under-investment. Not all prices have come down in privatised industries, but a large reason behind that is the new companies have had to correct decades where governments let things slide. Privatised companies have made major investment in for example power plants, water and sewerage facilities, railways and airports.
- Privatisation has improved environmental standards. Part of the wave of new investment has been to make Britain greener. Our beaches have never been cleaner or our power stations less polluting.
- Reversing privatisation would bankrupt Britain. The BNP are keen to reassure that they would pay properly for buying back Britain’s utilities – if they didn’t, it would be our pension funds and savings that would lose out. But the cost of renationalising the telecoms, energy, transport and water industries would be absolutely enormous, in the hundreds of billions. Unlike the banks, we’d never be able to make back this money through selling the companies off.
In short, the BNP’s policy would likely bankrupt the treasury, increase fuel poverty in the old and vulnerable, and make Britain a dirtier, more polluted place.
Tags: policy
more deliberate inexactitudes from NB.
You lot are overreaching yourselves, in trying to smear the BNP. They are not a threat to your voting base, and you might end up relying on them to help pass legislation when you form the next government.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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AussieAl, its not a smear to point out the effects of their policies.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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I have mixed feelings about this one, taking the above at face value.
I have concerns about vital industries like water or power being under foreign control & whether that is in the best interests of British consumers.
If you read about the US & economic hit men being used to control or bend a countries interests to favour the US, you will see that something similar seems to have happened here.
Maybe it is all part of a plan to break the country down & prevent it being an independent sovereign nation?
There was another article I read, not from the BNP, that alleges that in return for oil security from OPEC back in the 1970’s, that we should accept mass Moslem immigration & not expect them to integrate.
But maybe somebody is constructing a theory after the fact to fit the situation now?
The BNP do discuss Peak Oil Theory which would also have an inflationary effect on prices if true but also the 2 billion & more Indian & Chinese middle classes will be competing in future for these resources as well.
That will create fuel poverty.
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Poverty has increased in the west due to a huge influx of unskilled migrants, which has undercut the traditional cost of labour and has led to an increase in unemployment amongst the native population. Added to this , has been the amount of economic resources that have been thrown at migrants, in the form of housing, education, health care etc…
At long last, due to the increasing popularity of the BNP, these issues are coming to the fore. Another reason to vote BNP.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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What absolute RUBBISH!!!
There used to be 16 different electricity boards, which when de-regulation came about did provide the customer with the option to shop around, but 10 years on there are 6 mainly foreign owned suppliers all basically price fixing and ripping us off…
Some choice!
“No longer do you have to wait three months for a phone line to get installed.”
That depends on where you live and BT(the only company who will do it – some choice eh?) will charge a lot for it!
Digital TV is another pointless waste of time and money, I was quite happy with the 4 analogue channels, now my living room is invaded with BBC asian network, 1extra and the odious gay rabbit – non of which I can block.
I don’t want that crap coming into home!
Privatization only benefits the investors, the consumer and employees are always given a raw deal, look at the way everytime you phone a company you get an automated service or someone in bombay taking your call. It’s a load of crap!
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[...] The BNP would abolish income taxes and replace it with increased consumption taxes. (see Monday). The BNP would break up the supermarkets and big retail parks (see Tuesday). The BNP would encourage local food and healthy eating. (see Wednesday). The BNP would nationalise utility and transport companies (see Thursday). [...]
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How can you tell the effects of their policies when they haven’t happened yet?
Is this man mad global warming science?
The world will be a different place in a few years, who will have the right policies then? time will tell.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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By examining the empirical evidence of what’s worked in the past. We know that the kind of socialism the BNP advocates leads to consumers and taxpayers getting ripped off
Hot debate. What do you think?
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You always have to laugh when the tories carp on about “choice”
The privatization they espouse seeks ultimately to eliminate choice by killing off the competition and monopolizing everything! The modern tory party seems besotted with foreign companies buying everything up, putting people out of work and cost-cutting to boost profits.
Lets be brutally honest the global capitalism the torys love so much isnt about choice or lower prices, its about boosting profits for the chosen few!
If these are the people who would bankrupt Britain by demanding reimbursement after re-nationalization, I’d tell those vultures where to go, they’d be lucky not to face prosecution for treason!
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If people worked on the empirical evidence of whats worked in the past Lab Lib Con men would never be voted in again.
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Davey, reimbursement is BNP policy.
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Pity it isn’t Labour party policy, they owe us big time!
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Yeah, just like giving us a referendum on the EU was labour and tory policy eh Jonathan!?
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