LETTER: How Red Star deal hurts the taxpayer
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.From Mr Michael Meacher, MP
Sir: I read your leading article on the sale of British Rail's Red Star parcels business with great amusement ("Red star over new Labour", 23 August). Alone among the entire press corps, your leader writer has discovered that giving an incompetent management a million and a half pounds to take away a public asset is a good deal for the taxpayer. If he had read just a few lines further in his colleagues' stories he would have seen that three other organisations actually offered to pay for it.
He also seems to think that Red Star has always received a "huge hidden subsidy". This is nonsense. It is only over the last four years that the business has been cut in half, while its losses rise relentlessly. Of course a train parcels business will face problems competing with road freight, if it has to pay the same rent for its use of cupboard space as WH Smith does for the concourse bookshop. Maybe your leader writer thinks this is only to be expected in the bracing climate of the free market.
Finally, this is not, of course, a question of "new" versus "old" Labour. Selling the family silver may be one thing. But I doubt if even your leader writer could find a Labour Party member who would support paying somebody to take it away.
Yours sincerely,
Michael Meacher
MP for Oldham West (Lab)
House of Commons
London, SW1
23 August
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments