Lords debates privatisation
23 October 2015
Members of the Lords, including a former secretary of state and the chairman of the British Institute for Energy Economics, debated the case for private ownership of industries and institutions in the UK, on Thursday 22 October.
Members discussed the history of privatisation in the UK, and looked at the motives behind it, identifying factors such as accountability, innovation and the opportunity for share ownership.
Peers highlighted some of the problems with private ownership, including hurried deals, in order to get ‘quick win’ political payback, and a gradual drift into foreign ownership of infrastructure, resulting in very complicated investment deals. Lords also spoke about different models of privatisation, and asked how technology would affect the process of privatisation in the future.
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