Come and get it, free broadband! The announcement by the Labour Party yesterday that they intend to partly nationalise British Telecom and offer households free broadband does appear to be desperation tactics as they continue to trail the Conservatives in all opinion polls.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn wants to re-nationalise a number of top industries ranging from the railways to the water companies. But it is a dangerous move which will cost Britain a small fortune and would effectively bankrupt the country, according to leading economists. But will Corbyn´s plan work?
The possibility of free broadband could be a vote winner but I suspect that most people will just dismiss it as an election give-away which is what it is. But the whole episode has underlined Labour´s dream (or Corbyn´s desire) to bring back Britain to the 1970s. I think you can safely say that little or nothing worked in Britain in the 1970s...and it was a decade which was hit by wildcat strikes with union power ruling supreme. This may appeal to Corbyn and some of his followers but it is a nightmare prospect for many.
Imagine, a Britain which is struggling after leaving the European Union with a government intent on buying back former nationalised industries? The one good thing about the British election is that the two main candidates are very different and stand for very different things. But they both want a return to the 1970s; Johnson because Britain was out of the EU and Corbyn because of the nationalised industries.