Ash Sarkar labelled privatisation a “failed experiment” in the UK during an appearance on Question Time.
The political commentator appeared on this week’s edition of the BBC political show alongside Labour minister Heidi Alexander, Tory shadow minister Helen Whately, Lib Dem MP Lisa Smart and columnist Mathew Syed.
During the programme, the panel were asked the question ‘do we pay enough tax for good public services?’
In response, Sarkar boiled it down to a simple sentence: “Everything is too expensive and nothing works.”
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She went on to point out where the public is “actually paying too much money” – into the pockets of shareholders.
“£200 billion of our money has been paid out to shareholders for privatised utilities like rail and mail and energy and busses,” Sarkar said.
“That’s money that could have gone into reducing customers’ bills or investing in infrastructure. It hasn’t, it’s gone out in the form of shareholder profit.”
Sarkar also highlighted the privatisation of social care, labelling it the “monster under the bed when you look at any local authority’s budget.”
She said the role private equity was playing in social care is “disgusting.”
Suggesting how the problem could be fixed, Sarkar said we need to “admit that privatisation has been a failed experiment” that has “cost this country dearly” and “needs to end.”
Sharing the clip on X, Sarkar wrote: “£200bn has been paid out to shareholders of privatised utility companies since 2010. Private equity runs our social care. And we don’t tax the super-wealthy enough. That’s why everything’s too expensive, but nothing works.”