CutsCheck: Selling off the family silver?
The cut
CutsCheck is getting wind of a money-saving wheeze to be announced as part of this month’s spending review. George Osborne is launching a new drive to flog off state-owned companies, buildings and land as he scrambles to bring Britain’s record deficit under control.
The analysis
I’ve been told the minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude has been asked to lead the drive to sell off the family silver. The Cabinet Office has confirmed he and the Commercial Secretary, Lord Sassoon, are to chair a committee to “consider issues related to the sale of government assets”. Others on the committee include Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, minister for government policy Oliver Letwin, Postal Services Minister Ed Davey and the Energy Minister Lord Marland.
In the emergency Budget in June, the Chancellor did flag up some asset sales – and this seems to be an extension of that.
A Cabinet Office spokeswoman told CutsCheck: “The establishment of the committee reflects the importance the government places on this agenda.”
State assets include the Royal Mail, which the government has already said it plans to privatise, and a £370bn property portfolio. Buildings and land range from Ministry of Defence assets, to the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in central London and British Waterways, which controls 2,200 miles of canals and rivers. Other state-owned enterprises include Channel 4.
However, although a government source said the Treasury had insisted that nothing was off the table, privatising Channel 4 was not a preferred option.
Cathy Newman’s verdict
All governments short of a penny cast around for state assets ripe for the market. How many times did we hear the Labour government promise to sell off the Tote? Odds are now shortening on ministers finally getting shot of the state-owned bookmaker. But if the Chancellor has his way, that won’t be the only thing he manages to flog.
Privatisation was of course a hallmark of the last Conservative administration. And having invoked the high priestess of privatisation, Margaret Thatcher, in his conference speech this week, perhaps David Cameron is turning to her record for inspiration as he seeks to cut the deficit.
There are 7 comments on this post
Makes sense…. why do we need to own Channel 4?
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Government’s hard isn’t it Dave ‘n’ Nick?
All that macho posturing pre and post election about cuts is melting away by the hour as it dawns on the blue and yellow Tories:
“What-ho. Maybe we won’t regress into Greece chaps. Maybe all that bally cutting we keep chuntering on about is frightening the horses”
They’re more incompetent than Labour..
Who’d have thought we’d be saying that 5 months ago?
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The Con/Dem government will privatise everything and anything it possibly can, What surprises me is David Cameron hasn’t changed his name by deed poll to David Thatcher. We all know the National debt has to be addressed but I fear the Con/Dem’s are going hell for leather to bring it under control far too quickly . Mark my words there will be uproar yet.
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False logic – the idea is that we have to bring income and expenditure into balance. Asset sales make it look as if this has happened, when it hasn’t. It only makes sense if you sell off a liability, which someone else turns into an asset.
This is how rail privatisation was supposed to work – sell the liability, and watch the private sector make it efficient, so the taxpayer no longer has to subsidise it. That didn’t work out so well.
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i would agree more of what she has wrote.
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Governments do not own UK Assets they are owned by the people and managed for the duration of each Parliament by politicians who act, supposedly, in our best interests.
Intrinsically, the UK’s Sovereign Debt is OUR debt created by global events that then triggered a credit crisis which then highlighted the massive debts built up by the Labour Government. (I note the comment above blaming Thatcher for all our ills but, for Heaven’s Sake, Thatcher has been long gone and Labour had 13 years to make a difference and they only made things worse!)
The fact is that we, as a Nation, have borrowed too much to pay for expansion of the Public Sector, unaffordable social welfare for more than just the needy, to fight two wars, to enforce over 4300 new criminal laws created since 1997, a failed ID Card system and a host of unnecessary Quangos that employ unelected people in positions of authority over us.
We all know that there is going to be a reduction in capital expenditure by this government to deal with a debt that is costing US £120million every day in interest payments.
Selling off assets like Channel 4 into private ownership would certainly help reduce the pain.
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What I do is predict events and warn companies and governments. If they listen good and fine if not then the event happens as stated. Gods words not my words. I have a proven track record so take note because this concerns you. How to kill off the UK in one easy step was given Liberals the power to hand the government to the most argent snobby people the Tories. Thatcher time as PM was the prime example on what not to do become a Nation of shopkeepers and sell off the silverware. When there is nothing left to sell then cuts all round was her only answer as it is now. To drive out the foundations our National security so it could be sold off to people out with the best interest of the UK has to be the dumbest mistake in British history ever. Now we have the debt problem leading to our downfall. Blair was just as bad because he along with Clinton and Bush where all given the warnings about the recession I predicted would happen in the tenth year 2007 as was banks like RBS and motor car manufactures like GM and Ford. We don’t need your way to stop it because it simply couldn’t happen and I was wrong they stated. Who owns your debt was a clear indicator to the housing boom that…
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