Government announces Eurostar sell-off
So Osborne is selling more of the family silver in seeking to raise £300m from the sale of a 40% stake in Eurostar. This is our only rail link to the continent and the rest of Europe. It is unregulated and can charge what it likes, drastically cut its services, let its trains fall to bits ,and there will be nothing that our Government can do about it once it is sold. Of course the buyer of the UK share will say that they will enhance the service and frequency; they would! But what will stop the new buyer selling their share on to others, who may have different plans?
The French Government, with 50% share, can of course react, but France does not need Eurostar in the same way that the UK does. For us, it links to the rest of Europe; for France, just a branch line to the UK.
So this will make a 1% contribution to reducing our national debt and cause a potential but unquantifiable extra cost to UK business and leisure interests.
And the likelihood of a competitor starting remains remote, whilst our security and immigration people insist on retaining ‘Fortress Britain’, unless DB buys Eurostar as being the easiest way to get to London, and ensuring that there will never be any competition in that market.
But then our Government likes competition!
“Eurostar…is our only rail link to the continent and the rest of Europe.”
No, Eurotunnel is the only rail link.
“The French Government, with 50% share…does not need Eurostar”
No, EIL comprises three shareholders: LCR owns 40%, SNCF owns 55%, with the other 5% owned by SNCB. All have have a ‘last-look’ right, but at a 15% premium.
“…unless DB buys Eurostar”
What has David Beckham go to to with this?
The UK survived many years without a channel tunnel, if they raise their prices too high then it’ll just help the ferry trade.
Slightly deeper question lurking:
where is all the Chinese ‘Sterling’ Silver
that was conned out of Present-Day Chinese’s Ancestors
“way back” in the ‘Western World’ colonial days ?
[( wot, get rid of it at a profit before some law ‘chink’ appears, taking it back ?)]
This is utterly ridiculous. Does the government have the consent of the British public (who paid through the nose for this form of transport) to sell it off to those who want to make a hefty profit in the future? Just as they did with the Post Office. This trickery is another reason the public must get rid of this bunch of laughing hyenas next May.
This thread irritates me now end. It’s time the public took the government officials, and I mean those who are in on this fraud of the public, in the very top office. They know what they are doing and it is solely for personal gain. They have been getting away with this robbery in earnest sine the Reagan/Thatcher fiasco and I would like to ask Labour why they have gone along with this? Why, when they were in office, didn’t they remove legislation that allows this fiddling of tax payers money and insurance thereby placing it their own pockets?
It is November the 5th in a couple of weeks time, lets burn the Guy’s.
Take notice of this clip which explains very well what is really going on, from the sell off of the Post Office, to the sell off of this latest theft, Eurostar. Listen carefully.
http://enochered.wordpress.com/tag/max-keiser/