East Coast rail privatisation: private pockets before public profit

It's unbelievable.

East Coast, despite being publicly-owned, actually cost the public considerably less than the private sector rail franchises do (we pay them massive subsidies and usually end up paying for line upgrading etc). Profits generated were invested back into the service and they ploughed more money into the treasury coffers in five years than Virgin have in fifteen.

Just think about these figures for a minute: the country were making money out of this public-owned railway line, in contrast to the privately-owned lines, which plough profits into their shareholders' pockets (who then stash their wealth in tax havens, of course). Add to this the fact that passenger satisfaction with East Coast are at a record high and you begin to wonder how on earth the Tories can justify this.

They can't. But they don't need to. They're the ruling class and they can do whatever the hell they like.