Eton claims that VAT on private school fees means it will have to slash its bursaries budget by more than £1 million.
A reminder that Eton is sitting on a £553 million endowment fund and in 2022 received £3.3 million of rental income from its real estate portfolio as well as...
8. Water companies
The regional water authorities were sold for £7.6bn in 1989.
Since then, the industry has taken on £60bn in debts to help pay £78bn back to shareholders.
The result? Higher bills and you-know-what in our rivers.
7. British Steel
Floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1988, but the taxpayer bailed out it again in 2019 with a £120m loan.
It was bought by a Chinese company for £50m the following year.
6. Private housing stock
Through Right to Buy, Thatcher kickstarted the great housing selloff.
There were 6.5m council homes in 1979. In 2022, there were just 2.2m.
5. Eurostar
We used to own 40% of Eurostar, our direct link to Europe.
As the company became profitable, Cameron sold our stake to private investors, including a Canadian firm.
France and Belgium still have their shares.
4. British Gas
Profits leapt from £72m to £751m in 2022-23. You know what happened to your bills in that time.
Some of its parent company’s biggest shareholders are large American funds.
The Tories won’t want to hear this.
They accuse Labour of “giving away British assets” over the Chagos Islands and Elgin Marbles – yet they’ve been selling off crown jewels for decades.
Here are 8 things the Tories flogged (and the damage it caused):
1. Royal Mail
After centuries in public hands, Cameron sold it off for a quick buck.
The National Audit Office found undervaluing Royal Mail shares cost taxpayers £750m in one day.
Now it’s being bought by a Czech billionaire, who refused to rule out hiking stamp prices.
2. Green Investment Bank
Did you know we used to own a green investment bank?
The Tories set it up in 2012 to invest in environmentally sustainable infrastructure.
But it didn’t last long. It was sold in 2017 for £2.3bn to a group led by the Australian bank Macquarie.
3. Land
About half of all publicly owned land has been sold off since Thatcher came to power – mindblowing.
That’s 10% of the entire British land mass, including large swathes of forestland which raises issues about conservation and public access.
The UK is spending £369m refurbishing Buckingham Palace for King Charles, who has £22bn and gets £500m more a year.
He can pay for his own renovations, £369m is more than England spends on building Social Housing in an entire year for the whole country.
We don’t need four more years of arrogance and bumbling and bluster and division under Donald Trump.
America is ready for a better story – we’re ready for a President @KamalaHarris.
Eron Hodges showing what real leadership and responsibility looks like. Repeatedly ensuring that the that men he coaches know precisely what consent is.
This is how men can start to be a part of the solution.
@EronHodges
In the last 14 years the richest 1% of the UK have more than tripled their wealth.
While the poorest 90% have actually lost money.
There is loads of money, £1.4tn to be precise, that they have stolen.