It’s the £64bn question: what does George Osborne have left to sell off?

The chancellor’s divestment spree will not stop at the bailed-out banks. We look at other candidates for privatisation – and ask if this is 1987 all over again

George Osborne’s decision to begin selling down the government stake in Royal Bank of Scotland has paved the way, many feel, for a glut of government asset sales that prompts comparisons with the Thatcher era.

Critics complained that the RBS share sale crystallised a £1.1bn loss on the government’s stake, which it has held since its rescue of the bank following the financial meltdown. But for the chancellor, it represents the first phase of a series of sell-offs that will raise £32bn this year and a further £32bn by the end of this parliament in 2019-20, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.

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Source: The Guardian Circular Economy RSS