SNP = Nationalisation of utilities??

[ScottM]

was earwigging a conversation between two suits earlier today ( i know, im naughty ) about mr.salmond's idea ( or intention ) to possibly buy or nationalise all utility providers in Scotland and to combine all the utilities into one company under the control of the scottish govt and to implement a single charge per person or household (variable depending on income & status etc) i was well interested when i overheard this but i couldn't believe what i was hearing.....anyone else had a hint of this?? these two suits had a load of paperwork & info on this and they were discussing it in fine detail. no idea who they were but they were certainly not locals..

[ducati]

As all the Scottish utilities are international companies it might be difficult.

[tonkatojo]

As all the Scottish utilities are international companies it might be difficult.

But he can do a "Mugabe" surely.

[Trajan]

And why not ,, thats the scottish people quids in instantly no more rip off power prices ,, yee lot sit and moan about the crooks that are our foreign owned power companies, sold off by some divvy in westminster,on the mega cheap,
take it all back, nationalise them all, then make every scottish citizen a shareholder in them, then start afresh with a clean slate. simples if you got the staines

[ScottM]

my initial thoughts of the whole idea were of disbelief but the prospect of keeping everything owned by the Scottish Govt would probably mean the cash stays in Scotland too. more im thinking about it, the more it does make sense......now what would the Scottish Govt do with all those fat profits like the big players make??

[tonkatojo]

And why not ,, thats the scottish people quids in instantly no more rip off power prices ,, yee lot sit and moan about the crooks that are our foreign owned power companies, sold off by some divvy in westminster,on the mega cheap,
take it all back, nationalise them all, then make every scottish citizen a shareholder in them, then start afresh with a clean slate. simples if you got the staines

Well that's the "pillaging" back on the agenda now, I don't think the "rape" will be appreciated.

[ducati]

One sure guage of who, if anyone, is taking this seriously, will be the instant cessation of windfarm building activity, R&D and investment in Tide and Wave power etc.

[Gronnuck]

Nationalisation??? It isn't going to happen. If it did, no sane businessman would want to invest in anything Scottish. We'd quickly become a non-trading pariah and the laughing stock of the first world.

[theone]

I don't see, realistically, how this could be done.

If they were to create some kind of compulsary purchase order, they would legally have to pay fair market value. Fair market value would include potential future profits, so we'd end up paying just as much for electricity as we would be anyway.

The only other option would be to steal them back, and risk sanctions. ANd become a laughing stock.



To be honest, I think this smells a wee bit like typical SNP tactics: Leak a story or mention a potential future strategy that appeals to those who don't look into it too much. "Cheap energy", "no big profits for energy companies", "keep scottish money in scotland" etc, etc.

All popularist policies that win votes, but, when looked into in detail, are virtually impossible to implement.

I honestly believe the SNP will do anything, and make any promise, no matter how ridiculous, to win a vote for their ultimate goal of independence. If they achieve that goal, they'll be happy to disappear into the wilderness, content that Scotland has left the UK and not caring how the mess gets sorted.