AgentAxeman 174 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 I see that Gordon Brown, the financial wizard is at it again.......... Government's £16bn sale of assets Gordon Brown is to announce the sale of £16bn worth of assets by the government in a bid to shore up public finances. The prime minister will give details of initial sales which could raise £3bn - including the Tote, the Dartford crossing and the student loan book. He will announce the sale in a speech on Monday as an alternative to immediate cuts proposed by the Tories. The Conservatives said the sale was "probably necessary" but "no substitute for a long-term plan". Mr Brown will say premature cuts risk "snuffing out" the economic recovery when the job of fixing the global economy is only half done. The plan is to sell a "portfolio of non-financial assets" held by Whitehall and local authorities over the next two years. They will include the Tote bookmakers, Dartford crossing, the student loan book, the Channel Tunnel rail link and - having protected national security - the government's stake in Urenco. It is no substitute for a long-term plan to get the country to live within its means Conservative Party spokesman This is a European uranium consortium, in which the government has a 33% stake. It supplies equipment to enrich uranium for the nuclear industry. The government will also sell surplus real estate which is part of the £220bn owned by its departments and agencies. "We need a deficit reduction plan that supports growth and jobs not one that snuffs out recovery before it has started," the prime minister will say. "Restoring public finance sustainability must be done in a way that supports growth not destroys it. The failure to do so is the real risk of a lost decade of austerity." The funds raised will help finance new capital investment and pay down debt, Mr Brown will say. In April, Chancellor Alistair Darling forecast that public borrowing this year would reach a record £175bn over the next two years. A Conservative Party spokesman said: "As any family knows selling off things helps in the short-term and, given the state the country is in, is probably necessary but it is no substitute for a long-term plan to get the country to live within its means." The Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, Vince Cable, said the policy was fundamentally flawed. He said: "Part of the problem here is that a lot of the family silver's already been sold. There isn't very much left, I mean the last government had massive disposal of assets and there's only a little bit, there are a few offerings left. "What worries me about the government proposal is that they're proposing to sell off in very depressed markets, under very depressed markets for land and for shares. "The student loan book is a slightly easier thing because it's government backed, but they're going to get very distressed prices. This is not a good time to sell assets." Number 10 said the sale marks the beginning of a radical assessment of what other non-core government business activities can best be done by, or in partnership with, the private sector. However Downing Street added that although these actions are important, a vital force for debt reduction will be the restoration of strong, sustainable growth within the economy. Didnt they try and sell the Tote a couple of years ago?? I wonder what price they'll get for it now! I'm willing to bet it's for less this time around! Wot a fookin MORON this guy is!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 I think Robin Cook talked Brown (as Chancellor) / Blair out of selling the Tote a while back. Cook liked the horses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Park Life 71 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Sell the water and gas companies......Oh wait... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fish 10779 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 probably save a bob or two by ending the frivolous free-milk at schools scheme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 The bit about selling stuff at a time when markets are depressed reminds me of this: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/poli...icle1654931.ece Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Park Life 71 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 The bit about selling stuff at a time when markets are depressed reminds me of this:http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/poli...icle1654931.ece Stupid fuck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig 6682 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 So he's selling the Dartford Crossing then? A toll charge that was only supposed to be in place whilst the costs of building the bridge were recovered. Once they were, the tolls were supposed to disappear. Oh and just for the record, the costs were recovered quite some time ago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Park Life 71 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 So he's selling the Dartford Crossing then? A toll charge that was only supposed to be in place whilst the costs of building the bridge were recovered. Once they were, the tolls were supposed to disappear. Oh and just for the record, the costs were recovered quite some time ago Try driving in France, tolls probs cost more than fuel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig 6682 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 So he's selling the Dartford Crossing then? A toll charge that was only supposed to be in place whilst the costs of building the bridge were recovered. Once they were, the tolls were supposed to disappear. Oh and just for the record, the costs were recovered quite some time ago Try driving in France, tolls probs cost more than fuel. Aye but they're not imposed simply to cover construction costs, are they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Park Life 71 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 So he's selling the Dartford Crossing then? A toll charge that was only supposed to be in place whilst the costs of building the bridge were recovered. Once they were, the tolls were supposed to disappear. Oh and just for the record, the costs were recovered quite some time ago Try driving in France, tolls probs cost more than fuel. Aye but they're not imposed simply to cover construction costs, are they? I think they actually fund France, can't really see any other way that country makes money... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig 6682 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 So he's selling the Dartford Crossing then? A toll charge that was only supposed to be in place whilst the costs of building the bridge were recovered. Once they were, the tolls were supposed to disappear. Oh and just for the record, the costs were recovered quite some time ago Try driving in France, tolls probs cost more than fuel. Aye but they're not imposed simply to cover construction costs, are they? I think they actually fund France, can't really see any other way that country makes money... manufacture of white flags? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 And the UK utility companies they own, which ties in nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snakehips 0 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 And the UK utility companies they own, which ties in nicely. And the exportation of electricity to UK ! What a fuckin' great country we live in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgentAxeman 174 Posted October 13, 2009 Author Share Posted October 13, 2009 So he's selling the Dartford Crossing then? A toll charge that was only supposed to be in place whilst the costs of building the bridge were recovered. Once they were, the tolls were supposed to disappear. Oh and just for the record, the costs were recovered quite some time ago Try driving in France, tolls probs cost more than fuel. Aye but they're not imposed simply to cover construction costs, are they? I think they actually fund France, can't really see any other way that country makes money... manufacture of white flags? Nasty!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trophyshy 7073 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 (edited) more rabbit than Sainsbury's? Sell it all, all the stuff we own. Give it to the rich and charge the poor to use the stuff we paid for in the first place. The rich ruling classes latest, greatest trick. There's no escape lads. We are ruled by greedy idiots. NUFC is a microcosm of the world at large. Edited October 13, 2009 by trophyshy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cid_MCDP 0 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 The title of this thread has caused me to have "More Human than Human" stuck in my head for at least the past 15 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 15432 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 The title of this thread has caused me to have "More Human than Human" stuck in my head for at least the past 15 minutes. Glad it wasn't just me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 So he's selling the Dartford Crossing then? A toll charge that was only supposed to be in place whilst the costs of building the bridge were recovered. Once they were, the tolls were supposed to disappear. Oh and just for the record, the costs were recovered quite some time ago They've put the toll up recently as well haven't they? The Humber Bridge hasn't paid for itself after nearly 30 years btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cid_MCDP 0 Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 The title of this thread has caused me to have "More Human than Human" stuck in my head for at least the past 15 minutes. Glad it wasn't just me. One of my favorite albums of 1995. Did you hear the remix album version? Fucking brilliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitman 2204 Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Without wishing to sound a discordant note, I don't think there's any comparison between Brown and Thatcher. Thatcher was a monster, driven by idealogy and aided by big business. Brown is merely being pragmatic it seems to me because the country's bust and he needs to reduce debt. Of course it would make singing the Red Flag with his comrades a little more awkward, but I think Labour ditched that from their conferences around the time they stopped pretending to be socialists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renton 21393 Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Without wishing to sound a discordant note, I don't think there's any comparison between Brown and Thatcher. Thatcher was a monster, driven by idealogy and aided by big business. Brown is merely being pragmatic it seems to me because the country's bust and he needs to reduce debt. Of course it would make singing the Red Flag with his comrades a little more awkward, but I think Labour ditched that from their conferences around the time they stopped pretending to be socialists. People comparing Brown to Thatcher clearly didn't experience the 1980s, particularly the North East in the 1980s. Actually, I believe Avatar Axeman did, but he's a stupid twat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig 6682 Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 So he's selling the Dartford Crossing then? A toll charge that was only supposed to be in place whilst the costs of building the bridge were recovered. Once they were, the tolls were supposed to disappear. Oh and just for the record, the costs were recovered quite some time ago They've put the toll up recently as well haven't they? The Humber Bridge hasn't paid for itself after nearly 30 years btw. Aye they bastard have... Can't vouch for the Humber as we didn't build it. We did do the Dartford Bridge though and it's common knowledge within our company that the contract included a section that stated there'd be a toll charge 'until the construction costs were recovered'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renton 21393 Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 The Tyne tunnel has been charging for decades now despite the almost inevitable mile long queues. Scotalnd has abolished all tolls on its bridges I believe, quite relieved the other day when I crossed the Forth bridge having forgotten to bring any cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkeys Fist 42129 Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Without wishing to sound a discordant note, I don't think there's any comparison between Brown and Thatcher. Thatcher was a monster, driven by idealogy and aided by big business. Brown is merely being pragmatic it seems to me because the country's bust and he needs to reduce debt. Of course it would make singing the Red Flag with his comrades a little more awkward, but I think Labour ditched that from their conferences around the time they stopped pretending to be socialists. People comparing Brown to Thatcher clearly didn't experience the 1980s, particularly the North East in the 1980s. Actually, I believe Avatar Axeman did, but he's a stupid twat. Agree. I very much doubt Brown will polarise people in 20 years to the extent Thatcher still does. I detest the evil old witch and plan to have a party when she breathes her last. I also intend, once the inevitable fuss has died down, to piss on her grave (not joking either). What boils my piss is hearing Cameron bang on about broken Britain when IMO it is directly the result of his beloved Margaret's destruction of communitys through her vindictive policies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trophyshy 7073 Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 (edited) The Tyne tunnel has been charging for decades now despite the almost inevitable mile long queues. Scotalnd has abolished all tolls on its bridges I believe, quite relieved the other day when I crossed the Forth bridge having forgotten to bring any cash. Didn't know that, wasn't the Sky bridge about £15 too? Edited October 14, 2009 by trophyshy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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