It’s easy to ignore what the Ipswich Labour group thinks as they do tend to have a knee-jerk reaction to anything these days. It’s like a headless chicken, just because it runs around it does not mean that it’s thinking. However they are the biggest party in Ipswich and could always get back in control of the council.
Alistair Ross has put the reaction on his blog and, he’s against it. I’m not going to quote him verbatim, and instead link to his post.
His arguments are:
1. It’s been owned by the “people of Ipswich” for more than 100 years
Well, it’s been owned by Ipswich Council, which is hardly the same thing. However public influence does not need to be done through 100% ownership. If we’re getting rid of any influence that Ipswich council has over this then it will be a problem.
2. Profit’s bad
No it’s not. Profit means that food can be provided far more effectively than it was in Poland or East Germany, for one example. Profit means that services are provided more efficient, investments are made that couldn’t be done through the public sector and there is more incentive to change. To take the profit’s bad idea to its logical conclusion would be to nationalise all opticians and Ipswich Grammar school. Andrew Coates may approve of that, but the Labour Party did not even agree with that in the 1983 election.
The question is whether profit will get in the way of providing a service more than a cash strapped council will. There are arguments on both sides, but “profit is bad” is not one of them.
3. Higher fares will mean higher concessionary bus fares
If there are higher fares. However council subsidised fares will be more expensive at whatever price point. It may be a price that we are prepared to pay, but there really should not be the one sided equations that are presented here.
4. It’s the wrong time – as it’s too cheap
This is a decent argument, as it points to the fact that Labour will reach a very similar deal if they get elected in May, with one or two cosmetic adjustments.
However councils are having the cash taken away from them now, not when the economy recovers from Gordon Brown’s recession in five years’ time. Councils of all stripes need the cash now and they need to keep the costs down in the next three or so years.
5. Total opposition to privatisation
Leaving aside that it’s a hostage to fortune, the Labour government have instructed councils to sell assets and Ipswich Labour MP Chris Mole has said that Councils should decide on bus company sales and joint ventures. Is the Ipswich Labour Party declaring UDI from the Labour government and their own MP?
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