Reply to: Labour Party Conference….

[Paddy]

This thread is old news.

We need one called Tory Party Conference.

The Mafia Party

[SueEllen]

This thread is old news.

We need one called Tory Party Conference.

[NotAllThere]

You clearly never lived in a world where the utilities were nationalised...

I live in a country where certain utilities are nationalised. It works quite well thank you.

[SueEllen]

See, you all miss the point. Nationalised industries weren't run by HMG, they were run by unions, using rules that dated back to the 1900s and were only neutralised by the Tories in the 1980s. Until then, the big nationalised companies were run for their workers, not their customers, and there was no pressure or even any reason to be profitable or even vaguely efficient.

Looking at Labour's current thinking, we could be back there very quickly if the create new nationalised companies or re-nationalise ones already in existence and in parallel relax the restrictions on union actions (it's all been talked about by tem for a year or so now, especially since they started believeing they will win the next election).

If you want to go back there, and have your lives directed by the likes of Mick Lynch, then feel free, that's democracy. Just don't expect me and a lot of others to support you.

The RMT aren't affiliated to the Labour Party.

In fact the unions are ranting because Sir Keir is like Blair rather than Ed Miliband, so won't repeal any anti-union laws the Tories put in place. (Well he's been advised by certain people who advised Blair.)

And just to be pedantic, BBC colour was in the mid 60s (if you could afford the set) and even I had a colour set in 1973.

Some of us weren't alive in that period.

[vetran]

I was in Telecoms when BT was privatised, they were paying £1000 for an item that cost ~ £300 to make with a design that was a decade old . Post privatisation they instantly demanded a massive upgrade in functionality and a halved price. Before privatisation it was a license to print money.

I also worked in post where a number of suppliers have carved slices of post delivery forcing Royal mail to improve service and pricing.

Neither of these would have happened without privatisation.

[malvolio]

See, you all miss the point. Nationalised industries weren't run by HMG, they were run by unions, using rules that dated back to the 1900s and were only neutralised by the Tories in the 1980s. Until then, the big nationalised companies were run for their workers, not their customers, and there was no pressure or even any reason to be profitable or even vaguely efficient.

Looking at Labour's current thinking, we could be back there very quickly if the create new nationalised companies or re-nationalise ones already in existence and in parallel relax the restrictions on union actions (it's all been talked about by tem for a year or so now, especially since they started believeing they will win the next election).

If you want to go back there, and have your lives directed by the likes of Mick Lynch, then feel free, that's democracy. Just don't expect me and a lot of others to support you.

And just to be pedantic, BBC colour was in the mid 60s (if you could afford the set) and even I had a colour set in 1973.

[vetran]

No, but the perspective of experience is sometimes useful.

One trivial example from the mid-70s. My better half moved to 24 hour on-call work for her hospital - blood matching, urgent bio assays, that kind of trivial life-saving, time critical exercise. It took four weeks as an urgent requirement to get a telephone installed and hard-wired into the living room of the house. It took a further two months to get agreement to install an extension in the bedroom and another month for it actually to be done (the phone itself was actually delivered after two weeks or so).

How long does it take to get a PAYG mobile these days...?

provision of broadband is probably the closest analogy (line exists and the engineer just needs to visit to connect the router as they used to push the phono style plug into the prepared socket) I believe most orders are done within 7 days.

[SueEllen]

The Tories renationalised something under May (something to do with trains I think?)

Shush! The tracks and signals weren't put back under public control in 2002, and neither were random train operating companies since then....

[d000hg]

The issue isn't public v private, it's that the Tories only see fully private as an option. Working together doesn't work for those who own the conservatives.

The Tories renationalised something under May (something to do with trains I think?)

[WTFH]

No, but the perspective of experience is sometimes useful.

One trivial example from the mid-70s. My better half moved to 24 hour on-call work for her hospital - blood matching, urgent bio assays, that kind of trivial life-saving, time critical exercise. It took four weeks as an urgent requirement to get a telephone installed and hard-wired into the living room of the house. It took a further two months to get agreement to install an extension in the bedroom and another month for it actually to be done (the phone itself was actually delivered after two weeks or so).

How long does it take to get a PAYG mobile these days...?

Ah yes, in the 1960s it was black & white TV, but since something was privatised, we all have colour TV.

If you want to see what the Conservative government did in 1972 that led to it's downfall, you might spot a similarity to today.

...and just remember, if it wasn't for part state ownership, we'd have no nuclear power stations today. OK, admittedly the state is France, but it's not a fully privatised company.
Then there's the Japanese railways.

The issue isn't public v private, it's that the Tories only see fully private as an option. Working together doesn't work for those who own the conservatives.

[d000hg]

You clearly never lived in a world where the utilities were nationalised...

What was wrong with it?
The proposal isn't to nationalise but to have A nationalised player alongside others, I thought?

[SueEllen]

No, but the perspective of experience is sometimes useful.

One trivial example from the mid-70s. My better half moved to 24 hour on-call work for her hospital - blood matching, urgent bio assays, that kind of trivial life-saving, time critical exercise. It took four weeks as an urgent requirement to get a telephone installed and hard-wired into the living room of the house. It took a further two months to get agreement to install an extension in the bedroom and another month for it actually to be done (the phone itself was actually delivered after two weeks or so).

How long does it take to get a PAYG mobile these days...?

I do enjoy explaining to people born this century about telephones you can't move around with you.

They find phone boxes with phones in them confusing.

[malvolio]

Not everyone is as an

No, but the perspective of experience is sometimes useful.

One trivial example from the mid-70s. My better half moved to 24 hour on-call work for her hospital - blood matching, urgent bio assays, that kind of trivial life-saving, time critical exercise. It took four weeks as an urgent requirement to get a telephone installed and hard-wired into the living room of the house. It took a further two months to get agreement to install an extension in the bedroom and another month for it actually to be done (the phone itself was actually delivered after two weeks or so).

How long does it take to get a PAYG mobile these days...?

[SueEllen]

You clearly never lived in a world where the utilities were nationalised...

Not everyone is as an

[malvolio]

On paper it seems a reasonable idea to me, for government to have some control over essential things like utilities without being too involved in running/ruining it.

You clearly never lived in a world where the utilities were nationalised...