Leah Gunn Barrett
The Horizon-Fujitsu Post Office scandal is rooted in the UK government’s 2015 privatisation of a public service that had been state-owned (in England) for almost 500 years. It’s what happens when essential public services are sold off to private companies because the government is in thrall to an ideology that prizes profit maximisation over people.
The failing UK has zealously pursued this ideology to its natural conclusion – the complete collapse of public services and the immiseration of the people they’re intended to serve.
Essential services – health, water, energy, transport, mail, telecommunications – are more expensive and less efficient in private hands because profits are creamed off and not re-invested.
The increasingly privatised English NHS performs worse than Scotland’s health service.[1] Private bus and rail services are more expensive and less reliable than public ones.[2]
Private financing, pushed by New Labour, costs more and loads hospitals and schools with debt.[3] On average, privately financed hospitals are 70% more expensive than publicly financed ones.[4]
Private English water companies routinely spew sewage into waterways, don’t invest in reservoirs or fix leaking pipes. Scottish Water, still publicly owned thanks to a 1994 referendum where 97.2% of Scots voted to keep water public, means Scots enjoy far cleaner and cheaper water, healthier rivers and cleaner beaches.[5]
Private energy companies are reaping grotesque profits while citizens can’t afford to heat their homes. French and Norwegians pay much less for energy because their governments, unlike the UK, own their energy resources.[6] In energy rich Scotland, Scots face the highest bills and Scottish renewables developers pay to connect to the private National Grid while their English counterparts are subsidised.[7]
It’s a no brainer. Public assets should be publicly owned. The sovereign Scottish People must reassert their control by ending this failed union.
[1] https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2021/08/11/comparing-public-services-across-the-uk-providing-health-and-social-care-context/
[2] https://chrgj.org/2021/07/19/press-release-public-transport-private-profit-the-human-cost-of-privatizing-buses-in-the-united-kingdom/
[3] See United Kingdom, National Audit Office, PF1 and PF2, para. 1.9.
[4] Ibid., para. 1.19.
[5] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/mar/31/sewage-released-into-english-rivers-for-27m-hours-last-year-by-water-firms; https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/20647592.lesley-riddoch-must-tackle-real-problem-crisis-privatisation/
[6] https://news.sky.com/story/cost-of-living-why-some-countries-have-lower-energy-bills-than-the-uk-12609720[7] https://www.thenational.scot/news/19586393.scotlands-green-energy-sector-held-back-uk-grid-charges-mps-conclude/
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
The Norwegian Government is investing around £3 Billion in the Rosebank oil field, almost within sight of Shetland; the UK Government is allowing the Norwegians to claim back around £2.7 Billion in tax relief on its profits.
The Scottish Government would have had no difficulty finding the necessary funding if it had the borrowing powers.
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Private companies can be taxed. Westminster responsibility. Corporate tax, capital gains. Inheritance tax. It is Gov responsibility to collect enough tax. Stop tax avasion.
Scottish Gov should have total control over Scottish revenues and resources. Elected by the people. Not unelected corrupt politicians from elsewhere, lying all the time. Liars always get found out. Wasting Scottish funds and resources on useless projects of no value, especially to Scotland. No taxation without representation. Non democratic.
In Spain electricity costs are 1/4 of the UK. Spanish and foreign companies make vast profits with low tax in the UK. Multinational non Dom companies evading tax in the UK and worldwide. The EU was putting a stop to it. Result Brexit losing £Billions of revenues in the UK. Scotland did not vote for it.
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The sell off of the Post Office by Osbourne lost £Billions. Sold off too cheaply. The Tory made profits. Ripped off the pupil assets. Osborne’s pals in the Bank made £Millions in fees and charges. Backhanders. Total corruption and abuse of public funds. Under sold.
The Post Office officials actions are criminal. Illegal fraud and corruption. Charges should be brought. They knew the equipment was at fault but denied it. Much of the compensation is going to the lawyers. Not enough payout for the victims. More corruption.
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When the Post Office persecutions and prosecutions were going on, the Postmaster General was Ed Davy, now knighted and ensconced as leader of the LibDems. He was part of the Conservatives/LibDem coalition under David Cameron and the LibDem Cabinet members were more viciously libertarian than Osborne or Cameron. Being a ‘Yellow Book’ Liberal, he was unsympathetic to pleas from the post masters and mistresses. He gave them short shrift.
After the first showing this week of the docudrama about the scandal, he was asked for his views. He said, ‘Perhaps, I ought to have given the post masters more consideration.’ And that was it. No hectoring questions from the media, no asking pointedly if he ought to resign. He was ‘sorry’ and that was enough for our Newshounds.
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I may be ill informed but my understanding is that it was Royal Mail that was privatised and not Post Office Counters?
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https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C11752#:~:text=In%201987%20Post%20Office%20Counters,but%20with%20separate%20audited%20accounts.
Here is a link!!!
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Much of this stems from the dying days of the Thatcher administration where her ministers were trying to outdo eachother by privatising anything they could lay hands on.
Subsequently followed up by the Thatcher youth movement where ideology (lining their own pockets) became everything whether it made economic sense for the state of not.
Public interest became private interest and the long downward slide into authoritarianism where people have no say over essential services.
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Either way. Royal Mail & Post Office counters are under the control of Westminster Gov. Regarding business law, tax and funding. Still overall control. Setting the Law and the legal responsibilities. Often abused without censor by Westminster Gov rep. Often unelected. Appointed.
The buck still stops with the Westminster Gov for the appalling mess. Scotland is just expected to put up with it. No relevant say in legal or business matters. No Democacy or legal rights. Unequal.
Westminster raising £731Billion + council tax. Spending £1090Billion. 2020/21.
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Would make no DIFFERENCE AT ALL
LOOK AT WHAT BBC SCOTLAND GIVES SCOTS
ABSOLUTE RUBBISH AND THEN LIES
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The Post Office scandal deprived lives, savings, homes and even freedom before the cause began to be investigated – It will take many years yet before compensation is awarded to all those who were abused.
Although the ideology of privatisation was indeed the springboard for what transpired, it was top down detached executive management and obsession with demonstrating a healthy bottom line which allowed the scandal to erupt, lives ruined wasn’t even of secondary importance.
Yet do you see a single Minister in the current UK government who would have done any different ? Are doing any differently ? And let’s not kid ourselves that the prospective government are cut from a different cloth, far from it…
As to your “Private energy companies are reaping grotesque profits while citizens can’t afford to heat their homes” point, that is unique to the UK “energy market”.
eg Here in Romania, my local energy and gas supplier is the German monolith EON, still making huge profits, yet when I recently compared costs here for consumption to what I’d pay in North Scotland, the difference was astonishing –
485 Gas v 928, 91% higher
263 Elec v 693, 163% higher
748 Total v 1621, 117% higher
Perhaps Romania having already had a revolution explains the difference to the UK…
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