Thursday 27 November 2014

Virgin Violation and Stagecoach Robbery

At least the French State is not an enemy of this one. It is not a British Citizen who avoids the fiscal responsibilities of that citizenship while parading on the world stage as a Knight of this Realm. Nor does it spend money on campaigning to dismantle the United Kingdom.

The success of the East Coast Main Line has so embarrassed this Government, that that Line has been passed over to Branson and Souter, one of whom already maladministers the West Coast Main Line. Yet these are the vital arteries of our economy, society, culture and polity.

Every traditional Tory jibe against proposed nationalisations of clearly or allegedly inappropriate things, about fixing what was not broken and about doctrinaire ideology gone mad, applies precisely in this case. This has a reasonable claim to be the most perfect example of such a policy since 1945.

All of the proposed new services and other improvements could and should have been done by the State. That they have not been done has been a conscious political choice by both Coalition parties.

Oh, well, given the history of this Line, we shall see how long this latest attempt to privatise it lasts. But here on the East Coast Main Line, we shall suffer in the meantime.

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