So desperate have been British conservatives to privatize everything in sight before the election that they hit on one of the most egregious and nasty manoeuvre: they are privatized the probation service (utter chaos) and have written in to the 10 year contracts for the private companies involved a clause that commits the taxpayer to pay out 300- 400 million pounds ($480 – $650 million)
Thus, the companies are guaranteed their profits for ten years whether they perform or not. Traditionally, government contractors have been offered two years. I know someone who works for the probation service and tells me that everything is duplicated, decisions are not being made, and it takes an age to get anything done. The losers are, of course the people on probation, but who cares?
In the unlikely event that an Epicurean government takes power (!) in the UK the probation and prison services would be returned to the public sector, where they belong. Already, the two biggest private contractors that have been involved in privatization are being investigated for serious fraud. It’ astonishing that the current British government has any chance at all of re-election.
When I went to do my driving theory test the other day, the people running were not the DVLA like you might expect, but a private firm called Pearson. I really don’t see the point, its honestly much easier if the government runs government services directly.