Tell us what you think

Woman with megaphone in a crowd

Why do you want to see public services run for people not profit? Tell us your story here.

We'll use your comments to help make the case for public ownership - look out for your thoughts on our homepage!

Thanks for telling us what you think.

Photo used under Creative Commons licensing, thanks to anw.fr.

Comments

Adam Hiley replied on Permalink

Agreed but the red Tory party led by Blair continued Thatcherism and again it's led by Keir starmer

david tandey replied on Permalink

well Jeff you have perfectly described the Tories for what they are......THE DESTROYERS OF OUR COUNTRY AND OUR lIVES.

Christopher Powell replied on Permalink

I've just sent the email to Mark Harper and Steve Baker of the Covid Recovery Group. I got automatic responses from both of them saying the correct protocol is for constituents to contact their own MPs. These two MPs will get thousands of junk emails from people who are not constituents and hopefully one or two from people who are. Surely it would be better if we all sent the letter to our own MPs and asked them to forward it.

My MP is Alexander Stafford. He's a Conservative. I don't know if he's a member of the Covid Recovery Group. I often email him & he always replies (by ordinary mail).

So I went back to the website & tried to resend the letter to him. It didn't work.

Amelia replied on Permalink

Hi there,

Thanks for your message and for taking action!

We decided to use the constituency email addresses for Mark Harper MP and Steve Baker MP in this action as they do not currently have alternative, ministerial email addresses. We should have explained this in our earlier communications - apologies for this.

Sorry that the automatic response you received saying that MPs only respond to their constituents is off-putting.

However, their teams will have received your email along with thousands of others and will know that people across the country are calling for safe, publicly-led, locally-run test and trace now to keep our communities safe.

Hopefully this helps to explain the action a bit more but please let us know if you have any further questions at all.

Thank you so much for being part of the campaign - it's great to have your support!

Best wishes,

Amelia and the We Own It team.

Judith Longmire replied on Permalink

If our precious health service is opened up to US pharmaceutical companies, we will end up with a US style of health service where you have to be able to afford a lifetime of expensive private insurance in order to be able to use it.

Jill Sutcliffe replied on Permalink

The NHS saved my life when when my brother-in-law and I had to be in hospitals for the best part of a year aged 3, or my uncle whose cancer on his kieny was spotted on the slightest of evidnece and then there's the family - 2 GPs, various medical friends and a consultant who only ever worked in the NHS for the whole of their careers. What bothers me is the time coming when there won't be people left who remember what it was like without the NHS - whether or not you had money to get the doctor....

Christine Gibson replied on Permalink

We need to look after all our people's health. The only way is for an NHS which is funded through public money and owned by us all. How dare you try to rob us of something so vital to a civilised existence.

Mark replied on Permalink

All public services should be protected from profiteers by been included in a new constitution for the uk

Mark replied on Permalink

All public services should be protected from profiteers by been included in a new constitution for the uk

Andreas Christofides replied on Permalink

Hello there, I am really very angry at this at this extreme far right wing fascist racist lying homophobic government and they are scum of the earth. For God sake they need to be got rid off. What Boris Johnson and his bunch lairs and scum of the earth is absolutely disgusting nasty and vile to make a profit out someone sickness or disability, and no public service should have been privatised, but the marjority was done under that fucking bitch and witch Margrette Thatcher. We need change and we need now if i wasn't suffering with many health issues i would be at the House of Lords and Parliment shouting at this fucking lying homophobic extreme far right wing fascist racist bunch and i would stay there until all have them fuckers have gone. This is why i want the whole nation that what a decent society to demostrate on the streets throughout the UK and have a voice that we as a nation we are not going to be bullied into silence which is what these fuckers who are making lots of money out of the sick elderly and the disabled to keep their rich buddies happy.

susan savidge replied on Permalink

I dont have face book and would like to sign the petition so please include me in this.

Amelia replied on Permalink

Hi there, you can sign our petitions by clicking on the 'Act now' section of our website. You do not need Facebook to sign, just an email address. Hope that helps and thank you for your support!

John Archibald replied on Permalink

FFS: Someone gives us the weapons and take out bojo&co and every other politician who is against real democracy.

We can still have queenie and all the political parties – just so long as we the Public have overall control of all things we deem as being essential.

You privateers can do what you do best – run small business, sweetie shops and talk total F crap.

Watch out though as under Public control there will be law and order!

PS:

Don’t forget the Sun controls the climate and;

BR had the best railway the world has ever seen

CEGB the cheapest and most reliable electricity – burning Coal

British Gas the cheapest most reliable gas

British Steel the cheapest and best steel

Etc

Etc

Etc.

It was you greedy privateer F’s who destroyed it!

Libby Kemp replied on Permalink

Please could you always refer to Test and Trace as Deloitte's Test and Serco's Trace. It is really important the public realise they run these services, not the NHS. It's not a great catch phrase but with constant use?

Roland Gilmore replied on Permalink

Test and trace is not a panacea. UK government measures are only about slowing the growth in numbers admitted to hospital where, after years of cut backs, we have one of the lowest intensive care facility rates in the developed world. This is NOT about treating people to prevent them from needing admission to hospital. Countries that are treating people early have significantly lower hospital admissions and much lower case fatality rates (73.9% lower). The number of peer reviewed studies demonstrating the positive effectiveness of early intervention with hydroxychloroquine is growing. Studies that show negative or no improvement are all flawed by giving excessively high doses and by giving it to people who are at an advanced stage of the disease (e.g. the UK Prevent trial) i.e. too late. https://c19study.com/ As more and more people are becoming aware of the truths about this man made virus, they are fast losing their trust in UK scientists, politicians and our pathetic, unquestioning, main stream media. Civil disobedience will come next which is why the PM talked about military intervention. You cannot pretend that "we will beat this virus". The only correct and acceptable policy is to protect the vulnerable, rapid introduction of national supplementation with Vitamin D, Vitamin C and zinc then treat symptomatic people EARLY and leave people to get on with their lives. This action would reduce susceptibility to influenza too.

Carlton replied on Permalink

As someone who has worked for 40 years in the public and outsourced sector I feel better placed to comment than any of the people on WEOWNIT. The private sector is more agile and innovative than any public sector I have been involved in. The public sector never take responsibility for contracts that THEY draft, THEY AWARD and THEY manage. Unfortunately also some in the public sector want the private sector to fail and knowly will let contracts so that there is a likelihood that that will happen. The rail sector is a prime example where companies bid contracts based on the Government's own projections for passenger numbers. That said I have also seen many public sector services well run and well managed. Both can sit side by side.

Jon Hill replied on Permalink

Hi,

We have just launched an online newspper, West England Bylines, and would like to share some of your content on our site.

Please have a look at www.westenglandbylines.co.uk and let me know if you're up for this.

We are a serious responsible newspaper challenging the government's running of our country especially covid and the NHS.

We are also happy for you to feature any of our articles.

THARAHA KAMALANATHAN replied on Permalink

protect our communities and our health services from the privatiser FOREVER.

Tara dalton replied on Permalink

I received a covid19 test geeked out for Royal Mail to picked it up was confirmed between 7/4 the next day done the test three weeks later it’s still sitting on my kitchen side then tried to get another test as haven’t been feeling to well and it won’t let me So I’m not happy as done the test and nobody collected even thow I have it confirmed of pickup

Hilary Saunders replied on Permalink

How can MPs represent the interests of their constituents, if they vote NOT to have the right to scrutinise trade deals? Perhaps it would be worth compiling a list of all the MPs who voted against the scrutiny amendment, so that We Own It supporters can let their MP and social media and local media know what they think about this.

Michèle replied on Permalink

Is it worth pushing HMG to increase sick pay so poorly paid workers (many of them in the care sector) can afford to stay off work when they have Covid. This would help us all control the virus. If we can splash cash on meals vouchers we can pay decent sick pay.

Ros Wain replied on Permalink

This is madness and our lives depend on it.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/02/uk-set-to-award-covid-19-testing-contracts-worth-5bn-to-private-bidders

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus-testing-lighthouse-labs-nhs-deaths-delay-a9589381.html

The government’s job is to protect its citizens. There are public health experts and facilities with years of experience of test, trace and isolate already within the system who ensure that results get quickly to those who need to take action. How much better for us all to give them £5bn to expand. Not give it to private companies, whose failures already seem to have cost us lives, to start from scratch. It is simply more evidence of privatisation by the back door, the result of which is fragmentation of the NHS which is endangering citizens not protecting them.

Michael Young replied on Permalink

Exactly ...

yvonne mustapha replied on Permalink

l qualified as a ( Mature ) Dental Hygienist from Kings College Dental Hospital, London, then worked at this hospital in The High Risk Dept for one year,which l loved, until the funding ran out. l then made my way into the world of Private / NHS Dentistry. My eyes were sharply opened as to the poor cross infection control in many if not most Dental practices, The emerging Large Corporate Dental practice, were the worst.

l was surprised / dismayed at not only the un-supervised inadequate running of these places , with lack of lnstruements, each surgery having to quietly borrow from each other, at times seeing the stressed or( lazy ) nurse only having time to just spraying and wiping with a paper wipe the used borrowed lnstrument

l bought and only used my own lnstruments, this being the only way to have enough good sterile instruments for my patients.

Often requests to borrow them being made from other Dentists /nurses who either did not have the correct one needed,or just only a few old scalers

However like most Dental Practices, the Reception usually with a tidy clean front and a reassuring friendly receptionist was reassuring.

l can count on my hand only 3 Dental Practices that l would go for Dental Treatment.The third one being only Private, and expensive but with very good High Cross Infection Control , or at least it was when l worked there a few years ago

l am thinking of writing a book on my experience of working as a Dental Hygienist. what l and the many other Dental Hygienists consider scams, cross infection problems and difficult unpleasant Dentist, Hopefully before any other Dental Hygienist gets one published

Graham Hillman replied on Permalink

Water Utilities: The Scottish Government have now made Covid 19 testing as Mandatory at Water Treatment plants. They can because they own the Utility. The English Water Utilities are Private and ate they doing the same testing as part of Track & Trace. Ask that question and see what answer you get gh

Alex Bellamy replied on Permalink

Want to donate but your Paypal donation button is kaput!

Roger Lallemant replied on Permalink

I would hope you are aware of what I say, but if not, I think it is a very revealing example of government disingenuousness. In Lansley's 2012 NHS bill, there was a clause that said 'private work should not exceed core NHS work', or words to that effect. It was phrased in legalese, as it always is, to confuse the issue for the layman. However, when interpreted, it meant that private work should not exceed 49%. In 2012 private work was 4%. I think that single clause says it all, deliberately hidden in legal jargon.

Mrs Julia Ramsay replied on Permalink

Just appalled of news that Serco has been awarded another contract.

It’s like giving failing Grayling another job he won’t complete in a timely or satisfactory manner.

John Francis Moss replied on Permalink

Private is immoral & poor service.

Public is fair & good service.

Some folk might not agree with this.

Generally though, public is best.

In a vote public would win.

Kev hutchinson replied on Permalink

Serco found 18000 staff in just two weeks to set up track and trace and delivering this service for less money than the civil service would do , check facts , you are fake news !

Alice replied on Permalink

Hi Kev,

Despite being in control of the system for mere months, Serco has already proven itself inadequate.

The head of the track and trace scheme has said that the contact tracing system won’t be fully operational until September or October. The Serco CEO himself doesn't seem convinced it will work either. The Guardian revealed yesterday that he wrote in an email: “If it succeeds … it will go a long way in cementing the position of the private sector companies in the public sector".

As of June 3, Serco's tracers had contacted just 1,749 people, of the 4,456 confirmed Covid-19 cases that had been reported to the scheme.

Staff working on the track and trace scheme have described themselves sitting idle, without contact from their supervisors, with one claiming they worked for 38 hours without making a single phone call, instead spending the time watching Netflix.

All of our sources are linked in the text beneath the petition here: https://weownit.org.uk/save-lives-scrap-serco-now

Our campaign is supported by public health experts, including Allyson Pollock, Clinical Professor of Public Health and director of the Newcastle University Centre for Excellence in Regulatory Science, John Ashton, former director of public health, David McCoy, professor of global public health and director of the Centre for Public Health at Queen Mary University of London - and by 9 different healthcare campaigns and organisations.

Best wishes,

Alice and the We Own It team

David Bailey replied on Permalink

I am sorry and somewhat disappointed that I was unable to join the training session on how to persuade my MP to protect the NHS. The first was a technical issue on my part. The second was I was not allowed to unmute. The host wouldn't allow it for some strange reason.

Alice replied on Permalink

Hi David,

We're sorry to hear that you weren't able to join the training session. Because we have such a high number of attendees for these sessions, we automatically mute all participants in the call, and then unmute people when they indicate they want to speak during appropriate moments. We have to do this or we would have many people talking over each other!

If you want to get in touch with us about contacting your MP, please send an email to info@weownit.org.uk and we'd be more than happy to help!

Thank you for being part of our movement for people, not profit- and for defending out NHS!

Best wishes,

Alice and the We Own It team

Tom in NW London replied on Permalink

We can't wait in the (forlorn) hope of a Socialist government, so I would like all the workers in the NHS and other public services to TAKE THEM OVER; beginning with an all-out strike and then seizing control.

Jenifer Devlin replied on Permalink

I wrote to my MP asking for a meeting on zoom, which he has agreed to, but he doesn't want anyone else on the call and has asked that the others contact him individually for meetings. How would you advise that I respond?

Alice replied on Permalink

HI there,

That's brilliant- thank you for taking action and arranging a meeting with your MP! If you could send a quick email to info@weownit.org.uk, we'll be in touch about following up.

Best wishes,

Alice

Ben Harrop replied on Permalink

Hello. I am currently working on a farm and unfortunately unable to attend the webinar training session. Will the materials or recordings of the webinars be available online for self study?

Alice replied on Permalink

Hi Ben-

Thanks for getting in touch about the trainings! We can to email you resources to read through as you're unable to make a session- could you email info@weownit.org.uk, and I can send them your way?

Thank you for standing up to defend our NHS!

-Alice

Peter Draper replied on Permalink

I agree completely state ownership is best. But it is lack in quality of British managers leadership that always causes national ownership to fail. A clear example of this is our motor industry. The pnly way this is going to work properly and efficiently is for British workers to have either German or Japanese management. It works, think Nissan, Toyota, Rolls Royce, Mini.

Raymond Blackhurst replied on Permalink

I often receive emails from We Own It or other outside agents who must work closely with your organisation and today I received an email inviting me to an event to persuade my MP George Howarth (Labour) for Knowsley in Merseyside to Protect the NHS from trade agreements with other countries such as the USA

Sadly I am caring for a disabled lady and I haven’t been very well myself with mental health problems as I get very depressed and I won’t be able to take part

The NHS is an organisation close to my heart as I have needed treatment a number of times in my life and I have signed petitions and sent emails on this subject at the behest of other web based organisations such as Change.com

Yours

Raymond Blackhurst

Alice replied on Permalink

Dear Raymond,

Thank you for taking action for the NHS and being part of our campaign to protect our public services and reverse privatisation!

Just to clarify, the event will be an online meeting and not in person during lockdown. We totally understand that you are not able to attend, and your support for the campaign means a lot.

Take care, and best wishes-

Alice and the We Own It team

Adam Hiley replied on Permalink

https://www.newchartistmovement.org.uk We all need to start resisting this authoritarian Government and now from this lockdown to potentially selling the NHS off to Trump in a any trade deal this Government along with Labour & the Lib Dems need getting rid of https://www.getborisout.com

Don Clarke replied on Permalink

* Question 1: Pay differentials will be a major barrier to recovery post-pandemic. We have seen how important the lowest paid amongst us have been during this crisis. Clapping them every Thursday is embarrassing whilst pay differentials remain as they are, and I don't see how we can just go back to what was the status quo. Not everyone can be paid as much as the CEO currently, but the CEO can be paid less, and the lowest paid can be paid more. How do we seriously address the plain injustice of pay diffrentials, post-pandemic? Perhaps organisations in public ownership will be far more able to limit damaging differentials than private sector firms?

* Question 2: We've seen what happens when true Socialists get close to power: the media and the establishment close ranks and control communications to the people, unjustly and falsely discrediting Socialist leaders, and Socialist ideas like public ownership. How can we ensure the debate revolves around policy and ideas, and not falsehoods perpetrated by the media and unscrupulous opposition politicians, and ensure that the media presents a balanced picture to the nation?

* Question 3: Historically, globally, there was a balance of power between the nobility, the clergy, and the merchants. Government by the people, in time, became a fourth power. Today, we find the oligarch merchants have risen in power beyond what is healthy for the great mass of the people. Is recovery from this pandemic the great opportunity for us to redress the balance globally, in favour of government by the people, and in favour of people-oriented ideas like public ownership?

Alan Bond replied on Permalink

The latest 'Panorama' programme from the BBC reveals that this government has lied and lied again about PPE for our health care people. This is quite apart from the tardy response to a threat that was clear as early as January of this year. In addition, they have been attacking the BBC from every quarter since they came to power ten years ago and here we have the BBC allowing the tories to use the service as a propaganda tool to peddle the lies about their response to the pandemic. The BBC should be refusing to carry out their wishes and tell them to clear off and get one of their cronies in the commercial TV sector to screen their lies and disinformation. I just bet they would all say NO. We have the biggest death rate from Covid-19 of any European Country but the clearest contrast is with New Zealand where the government reacted swiftly and deaths from Covid-19 there have been minimal. Even our part privatised NHS is doing a magnificent job despite the odds being stacked against them by a callous and uncaring government. It proves beyond doubt that private enterprise cannot be relied on to keep us safe in times such as these and we need to start rolling back the frontiers that have allowed to greedy to leech off the rest of us.

Jules replied on Permalink

Many of the assertions against private companies and "profit" are demonstrably not true.

In fact "not for profit" can be counterproductive.

Without a profit motive, companies are often wasteful.

Even within private companies, individuals and departments can be wasteful - if they deal with "not their own money".

Government departments and Agencies are amongst the worst.

Only when there is close scrutiny by elected Reps - and who understand business and numbers - does the public sector stop wasting money.

None of this denies that there are "bad" private companies.

They need scrutiny too - and competition - to keep them "honest".

But problems occur mostly when a sector becomes dominated by a handful of providers.

So called "economies of scale" get overtaken by monopolistic practices and lack of customer care ....

.... much like most of the monopolistic pubic sector.

Alice replied on Permalink

Privatisation of public services has been proven to waste a huge amount of taxpayer money. It’s the public's taxes and bills that get wasted on shareholder profits, extra admin costs, and higher interest rates on borrowed money.

Here's a breakdown of the amount of money wasted each week across different sectors:

Rail - £1 billion a year or £19 million a week

Buses - £506 million a year or £9.7 million a week

Water - £2.3 billion a year or £44 million a week

Energy - £3.2 billion a year or £61 million a week

NHS - £6.65 billion a year or £128 million a week

For the sources and more info, read our blog here: https://weownit.org.uk/blog/waste-privatisation-we-cant-afford.

We don't believe in bringing back nationalisations of the past- we believe in public ownership fit for the future. You may be interested in reading our proposal for how public services should be run so that they are accountable to the public who use them, and workers who run them: https://weownit.org.uk/when-we-own-it.

Best wishes,

Alice and the We Own It team

Hugh Daniels replied on Permalink

The urgent and serious pandemic situation demonstrates clearly the problems with dividing up between public and private services, not least than when the NHS has been so severely depleted of services, staff and beds, especially high dependency ones, the private medicine companies are not available to support the NHS, and they generally avoid getting involved in complex cases, or set urgent need as a priority. They also take away trained staff from the NHS. I could say more too about the need for bus and rail services returning to being public, in the light of the disastrous current services and constantly rising prices and mismanagement.

Sean replied on Permalink

The public does not own the BBC.

This campaign is a lie.

Alice replied on Permalink

Hi Sean,

Since the BBC is our public broadcaster and is publicly funded, it should be in public control. The rest of the mainstream media is owned and controlled by a handful of billionaires.

We are proposing these reforms so that we can feel that we OWN it:

- Right now the government appoints BBC board members. We need an independent board with a citizens panel to give us a voice, make the BBC more diverse in staff and content, cap excessive pay - and have a stronger role for regional journalism.

I hope that this clarifies why we are running this campaign!

Best wishes,

Alice and the We Own It team

Brian Horn replied on Permalink

I'm more than happy, if you feel you 'Own it' to pay for it. It's called freedom of choice. Just don't expect to include the rest of the population, many of whom who no longer see a 'special' role for The BBC.

If I want to watch any live programming on any channel I have to fund the BBC. If I don't pay, even when I choose not to watch the BBC, I am liable to prosecution, how is that fair ?

I don't pay and only stream programming I want to watch. I was brought up watching BBC but now I would never go back.

To me and a growing number, the BBC's funding is an anachronism, it should stand on it's merits or die.

Pages

Add new comment