2009/10/14 Adrian Stott <[email protected]>: > "John," <[email protected]> > wrote: > >>The Daily Mail financial pages today list 'British Waterways canalside >>properties' as being mooted to be included in the government asset sell off. >>IIRC they were in the last Tory manifesto so after budget cuts and money >>earning assets being sold what future for the waterways? >>John > > I think the DM is (a) out of date and (b) beating its same old drum. > > The Tory "manifesto" (actually, I think it was a speech by Boy George) > a while ago did say the party would sell the BW portfolio. However, > after some education by BW I believe it changed its mind, and now > supports retention. >
Selling property in the middle of a recession is daft. And one-off asset sales make no great contribution to closing a big public sector deficit. (Only economic growth does that.) But while there's not much economic case for this at the moment or the next few years, I would be worried in the medium term as we heard a lot of traditional shrink the state rhetoric last week. While I don't find public ownership of the waterways a small step from despotism some probably do. -- Nigel Stanley
