Why is the coalition so obsessed with privatisation? It's not as if the sell-off of our railways, our utilities and our infrastructure has been such a great success. We have by far and away the highest rail fares in Europe and spiralling gas, electricity and water charges. It's not as if privatisation is popular and a vote-winner either. The public, whether Tory, Labour or Lib Dem voters, have had enough of it. Polls show big majorities in favour of renationalisation of water and the railways.

Supporters of privatisation say it's a way of saving taxpayers money - but it is actually a drain on the public purse. Our privatised railways receive substantially more in subsidies than British Rail did. Then there's the massive costs involved in privatising a publicly owned enterprise: one study has calculated the cost of rail privatisation as "at least £5bn", and £39.5m alone was paid out in fees to banks.
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By continuing with privatisation the government is showing us that it's more committed to putting the interests of capital - and its backers in the City of London - before the interests of the majority of the electorate. The sad truth is that in the coalition Britain of 2013, it's capital that calls all the shots - and so we get policies that capital wants, regardless of public opinion. That means a privatised Royal Mail, plans for a privatised road network, an NHS opened up to private companies, and a US company taking over search and rescue.