Regulation and Competition
Dan Hodges re-joined the Labour party recently so he could vote in the contest to elect its new leader, having declared that he would support Jeremy Corbyn on the basis that his old-fashioned, left-wing trade union led politics need to be tested to destruction.
In a piece for the The Telegraph which you can read via the following link Dan blasted the Labour candidates for lining up behind policies which are beloved of some party and trade union activists, but which have little appeal to the wider electorate.
Are you a voter? Think that you know best? Labour doesn’t
Now what I find funny is that a certain element with the Labour party has always been in favour of more nationalisation, on the basis that monopoly providers of services (in the rail and energy industries) are really just 'exploiting' the public.
As a matter of fact this charge isn't true when it comes to the energy sector at least because there are 6 big companies dominating that particular market which I believe was reduced from 14 by none other than Ed Miliband when he was energy minister in the last Labour Government.
But at least the energy sector has an independent regulator and one of the strategies open to government is to increase competition in the marketplace, instead of big organisations calling all the shots.
In fact you could even extend this kind of radical thinking to the country's trade unions where only 3 big brands (GMB, Unison and Unite) dominate in our public services without any oversight from an independent regulator who is there to adjudicate on complaints from union members or consider issues from a wider public interest.
Not only that the 'big three' providers of services to union members are not at all representative because they all support the Labour party and are stuffed to the rafters at senior level with card-carrying Labour party members.
So if you ask me, Labour should 'say what it means and mean what it says' by extending the twin principles of independent regulation and greater competition to UK trade unions, otherwise they'll be seen to be behaving like a bunch of self-serving hypocrites again.
